Hull KR are stepping up their preparations for Saturday’s Challenge Cup final
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com – 26/05/2026 – Rugby League – Betfred Challenge Cup Final Preview – The Alchemist, Manchester, England – Wigan Warriors Head Coach Matt Peet, Hull KR Head Coach Willie Peters
Willie Peters has seen Hull KR’s players come into their own this week as they build up to their second Challenge Cup final in as many years.
The Robins are the holders of the Cup, with that 2025 win over Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium being the first of the three trophies won last season, with the League Leaders’ Shield and the Super League trophy following.
Peters’ side have added to that haul already this year with their World Club Challenge win over Brisbane Broncos in February and as they prepare for yet another final, it’s fair to say they know their way around a big game week.
They know when to step things up, they know not to get swept up in the emotion of such occasions and they know how to focus in and produce their best stuff on the day.
That process is promoted by the head coach, but it’s led by the senior players at the club, who have developed a real habit of performing when it really matters.
“We trained yesterday and there was a really good feel amongst the group, a positive energy and a lot of that is driven my senior players,” Peters said. “They’ve been in this situation a number of times now, they know what it’s all about. It’s about building the week and making sure we nail it on game day.
“We enjoy each other’s company. We head down to London on Thursday so I look forward to that but a lot of it is driven by senior players.”
Of course, Rovers’ group is full of proven winners now, but 12 months ago, the club was approaching the final on the back of a 40-year trophy drought. The club’s last piece of silverware was won in 1985 and it was clear that the pressure to become that first Rovers side to get over the line in the modern era was weighing heavy.
Ultimately, they managed to get that monkey off their backs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean KR will approaching this week with a different mindset.
“There’s expectation,” Peters added. “I put expectation on myself as a coach and as a team.
“I wasn’t shy when I got there to say we want to be a top four club and we achieved that in the first year. I think some people may have been surprised internally, they felt we overachieved then the next year we came second, we made a Challenge Cup in the first year.
“The expectation we put on ourselves it wasn’t unrealistic, I’m certainly not going into this game talking it down, it’s the same expectations, what we’ve always gone after and that’s to win a trophy. I’m not afraid to lean into that and when we lean into it, it’s about going after it, that’s we’re here to do.”