The Robins travel to Leeds Rhinos on Friday night in Super League
Elliot Minchella will be a key man if Hull KR are to be Leeds Rhinos
Willie Peters didn’t beat around the bush when explaining how important this current period of the Super League season could prove to be for Hull KR.
Coming off the back of the Challenge Cup final, and the loss to Wakefield Trinity the week after at Belle Vue, Peters admitted the following three matches would tell us a lot about KR’s credentials moving forward.
The period in question started with the home clash against York Knights in which the Robins had to bounce back to winning ways and draw a line under the rough patch of form they had found themselves in. And, it culminates on Friday night when Peters takes his side to Headingley to face a Leeds Rhinos side who have been the stand out team in Super League so far.
Rovers were hammered by Leeds in Las Vegas and they lost against Brad Arthur’s side on two occasions last season as well.
Indeed, under Arthur Leeds have started to become Rovers’ bogey team, and that only adds to the challenge KR face this week as they strive to pull Leeds back to within striking distance.
The three-game focus started well, with KR cruising by the challenge of York Knights without breaking a sweat at Craven Park. They needed that to restore some confidence within the group and they followed that up last week by beating Leigh Leopards 22-8 at Craven Park.
KR were hardly their swashbuckling selves in either fixture and with the ball in hand in particular, they struggled to get firing on all cylinders.
The defensive structure was there though and that’s what Peters will be taking encouragement from as the season begins to dial up a notch or two.
The Robins have done what they have needed to over last fortnight, but if they are to make Peters’ three-game challenge a success, they have to overcome the league leaders’ on their own patch. It’s an acid test and then some, and the likes of Jez Litten and Sauaso Sue being doubts heading into the contest only serves to underline the challenge ahead.
Hull KR are champions for a reason, though, and if they’re serious about retaining their title this season and sending Peters out on a high then they simply have to take the initiative and assert their dominance over a side that has been fallible at times this year.
That means giving Jake Connor zero space to work, winning the middle through the middle with Mikolaj Oledzki being one of the best props in the division right now and nullifying the threat of Maika Sivo by preventing him from receiving good ball opportunities.
This week’s decision to appoint Nathan Cayless as Willie Peters’ successor takes away any uncertainty about what what comes next and that ensures full focus should be on making the next three and a half months as successful as it can be.
The time to kick on and make a statement of intent is now and that’s exactly what KR can achieve should they pass the acid test that stands immediately in front of them.