Rovers’ players have been left in no uncertain terms what is expected to happen next
Hull KR’s captain Elliot Minchella reaches the Royal Box after his side’s loss to Wigan.
Willie Peters says he’s looking forward to seeing the level of response from his Hull KR players after their Wembley woe left the Aussie questioning what had happened to his squad.
In the immediate aftermath of Rovers’ 40-10 defeat in the Challenge Cup final, Peters said his players were not as hungry for the victory as Wigan Warriors and was left questioning himself and his group for getting it wrong on the big stage.
With the World Club Challenge already won this season, Rovers still have an opportunity to emulate last year in picking up three trophies. Focus now switches to the defence of their League Leaders’ crown before the battle for another Grand Final can come into thought.
With just two points separating Leeds Rhinos in first and Wakefield Trinity in fifth, and with Wigan two more points adrift, Rovers know they’ll face a tough challenge to regain the league crown. It starts with bouncing back Saturday afternoon with a tough match at Wakefield in front of the BBC cameras once again.
A year ago with the league to shoot for, KR responded to a Challenge Cup win and a lot of celebrating by crushing Catalans Dragons 68-6, now Peters is eager to see how the squad respond to the hurt of Wembley in such a big game against a side challenging for top spot themselves.
“The players are the ones who win silverware and have the most say. They are the ones who have done what they have done (in recent years) and they are the ones that went on a run. I know the players I have in that dressing room will be ready to go against Wakefield,” said Peters in a strong defence of his squad.
“We have spoken about whatever position we are in, we keep being us, which we didn’t do against Wigan. The way to respond is through action.
“We put ourselves in a position to go after this one and we are in a pretty decent position in Super League, so we just need to regroup and can’t dwell on the cup too much. Last year we needed to back up after a win, now I’m really looking forward to seeing how this team responds against Wakefield.”
Rovers will be without Dean Hadley for the game at Wakefield after his failed HIA test at Wembley Stadium, while they will also take a look at Mikey Lewis’ ankle after the half-back needed an injection at half-time in the cup final.