Hull KR’s preparations for Wembley are underway. With a victory over St Helens secured, Willie Peters and his coaching staff’s full focus is now on the Challenge Cup Final as Hull KR look to secure their first major trophy in 40 years.
After coming through the week unscathed, the Robins have had the perfect start to Wembley week. Another win and the all-clear is exactly what was on the agenda.
On Saturday, Rovers had their routine recovery session for the week, as is always the case the day after they play. Today, they are given a day off, an opportunity to spend time with family before one of the biggest weeks of their professional careers.
On Monday, the Rovers will have a review and preview meeting. It entails looking back at footage of Friday’s victory over St Helens and a watch of Warrington. In that meeting, Rovers will start implementing their game plan for Saturday. They will be given the game plan of how they will attack, how they will defend, how they will go about winning the game.
Tuesday is another day off, the last one before the final, before they have their biggest session of the week on Wednesday. ‘Gameday minus three’, is always the biggest training session of the week for Hull KR, no matter what day their match falls on, the most intense session of the week will be three days before.
Thursday is travel day. The Robins will head to London on Thursday with a send off from Sewell Group Craven Park at 11:35 AM. Fans are invited down to Craven Streat to show their support and will be open from 10 AM. They will travel to London and settle into their surroundings for the next few days and go through some light recovery after the commute.
Friday is captain’s run, an opportunity to take to the Wembley pitch, take in the surroundings and have a final training session. It will be interesting to see how Rovers use their time at Wembley. Over the years, teams have used it very differently.
Of course, there will be a feel-good atmosphere at Sewell Group Craven Park on Thursday, and while the squad will embrace that, Peters was quick to point out it will be no party.
“We’ll have a send-off here, which is nice, but there’s no celebration, it’s more just respect and thanking the fans more than anything.
“We’ve got a job to do, that is what we intend to do. It’s absolutely a normal week, except we’re going to go down a little bit earlier. But other than that, it’s a normal week. It’s different in terms of press. Obviously, we go to Leeds on Monday, so do the press there on Monday afternoon, and otherwise it’s normal.”
Ultimately, Peters priority is on ensuring Rovers can enjoy themselves after the match, rather than before it.
“It’s a special time, there’s no doubt about that. Watching it last year, it hurt because we were part of it the year before. But it also hurts when you lose so I think you’re going to get your most enjoyment off the back of the win.
“We’ll have family here for our send-off. Family will go down the day before. They’ll stay in the hotel. We’ll meet them after the game. You know we’re a family club. So they’re included, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to prepare to go win a rugby game. That’s our approach.
“Fun comes after winning football games, by playing physical and doing the hard yards and all that sort of stuff. And most times off the back of a game, players enjoy themselves when they win. So yeah, as much as we’re really grateful, there’s no doubt about that. But we want to go that step further.”