Willie Peters has his say on the key moment late on in the defeat to Catalans.
Willie Peters reacts to Hull KR’s late defeat to Catalans Dragons.
Willie Peters admitted his side were chasing the “quick fix too much” after watching Hull KR fall to a dramatic 26-20 defeat against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.
The Robins got off to the perfect start, with Tyrone May marking his 100th Super League appearance with a try just nine minutes in against his former club.
But the momentum quickly swung the hosts’ way. Catalans surged into a 14-6 lead at the break, thanks to a brace from Zac Lipowicz and a penalty goal from Toby Sexton.
Hull KR struggled to get going in the second half, and Joel Tomkins’ Dragons extended their lead when Romain Navarrete crashed over to make it 20-6 after 58 minutes.
The Robins however mounted a late fightback, with tries from Joe Burgess and Tom Amone keeping them in the contest. Mikey Lewis then levelled the scores at 20-20 with a penalty goal five minutes from time.
Stand-in full-back Jack Broadbent shortly after sliced through Catalans’ defence to put Hull KR in prime drop-goal territory – only for a loose offload to squander the chance. Catalans made them pay, as teenage winger Lenny Marc crossed in the final minute to seal a 26-20 home win.
“We’re looking for the quick fix too much. We want that quick try or quick win, but if we get down and back up, who knows what could happen on play one or play two?” Peters said after the defeat, Hull KR’s third of the season.
“It was play one and we had a full set, but it didn’t happen for us. Catalans won the game, they played extremely well – they’re a good team, and we knew what we were in for tonight.”
Hull KR looked down and out when France international Navarrete scored midway through the second half to give the hosts a 14-point cushion.
Yet the visitors found the energy to fight back, leaving Peters feeling both proud and frustrated at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
“I’m proud of the way they battled to come back, but we made it hard for ourselves,” he said.
“We spoke at half-time about building pressure, but we didn’t do that early in the second half. We started building pressure later and scored some points, but then we were looking for the quick fix to try and win the game.”