The Hull KR boss believes Jez Litten’s best is still to come.
Hull KR’s Jez Litten celebrates after victory over Hull FC.(Image: SW PIX)
Willie Peters believes Hull KR still haven’t seen the best of Jez Litten and is backing the player to hit his stride at the Robins for at least several more years.
Litten was at his brilliant best in the derby against Hull FC last week, playing the full 80 minutes and taking home the Player of the Match award after an influential display.
Making the cross-city move from Hull to Rovers back in 2019, the talented Hull-born star has developed into arguably the best hooker in Super League in recent years, and at still only 28 years old, Peters is adamant the best is yet to come.
In fact, the Rovers coach believes Litten’s recent form puts him in a strong position to take the England nine jersey for the World Cup this autumn, with the player seemingly locked in a battle with Wigan’s Brad O’Neill for the role.
Speaking to Hull Live, Peters said: “He’ll play into his mid 30s. Like he’ll be 35, 36, I believe, and still playing. He’s definitely going into his best years; we haven’t seen the best of Jez Litten yet.
“I think that’s an exciting thing for the club going forward, and for Jez, hopefully he’s the nine (for England). If not, he’ll be around that 17 for sure at the end of the year, I believe, and he’ll have a big say in how England do at the end of the year, and he’ll have a big say in how we do the back end of the year as well.
“When you’re talking about a player like that, it means that they’re one of the higher-end players in the country and he certainly is; he’s one of our best players. There’s no doubt about that, and when he’s on, we’re in a strong position.
“He’s obviously the England nine and he was on top of his game last week. It was good to see him back. There’s no coincidence when Jez is playing like that; the team plays well. He’s such an important part of what we do and I’m sure he’s going to be important to what England do at the back end of the year.
“He played the full 80 minutes last week, and when he’s playing like that, you can just leave him on and we know we’re going to be in a decent position. I like what he did. It was a Jez Litten performance, and it was enjoyable to watch because he made his mark on that game, so, yeah, it was pleasing.”
Litten’s ability to do the full 80 also brought the best out of Rovers’ utility man Karl Lawton, who was able to work in tandem with skipper Elliot Minchella. It’s an option Peters is a fan of – with Lawton also able to fill in at dummy half when required.
“Karl’s been great because we can play Karl in a number of positions and last week Elliot, I thought, had his best game of the season,” Peters explained. “He played 30 minutes and then came off.
“He got his spell because he didn’t have to hold back. He didn’t have to play a full game; I mean, he can do that, but it was a derby game where you can just let yourself go, and that was the best way to use Elliot last week.
“Then Lawto, I thought he took the game to another level as well. I thought his running game was great, and it suits him in that middle.
“So, yeah, at the moment, it’s unfortunate for Bill Leyland, as we’ve always got Karl there who can play back row and play 13 and who can go to hooker, but when Jez starts the game, then most of the time, we want Jez to go the whole game. So, that’s the thinking around that.”
However, Peters plans to use the full extent of his squad next month, particularly during a period of three home games in ten days against Catalans Dragons, Warrington Wolves, and Toulouse Olympique.
“We need to look at it when it comes,” Peters said. “Like five hours ago we’re in a decent spot, and then I find out that we’ve got someone with a broken thumb (Arthur Mourgue), Dean (Hadley) has gone for scans, and Jesse (Sue) is no good.
“You think you’ve got those players, then that turns pretty quickly. It can change pretty quickly. We’ll just see where we’re at in a couple of weeks’ time. We’ll make sure that we manage the players accordingly and give guys an opportunity who are ready to step in, that’s for sure.”