The Hull KR coach has explained the coaching room moment that impressed him after victory over Bradford.
Hull Kingston Rovers winger Joe Burgess.
Willie Peters has praised Hull KR leaders Elliot Minchella and Jez Litten for delivering the right messages – and has explained the delight of some player-driven improvement post-match.
The Robins ran out 40-16 winners over Bradford Bulls on Friday night. However, they were far from perfect and didn’t have everything their own way – something that was pinpointed in the changing room post-match.
But for Peters, that bodes well for his side, who moved into fourth place in Super League with victory, with seven tries scored on the night – including two for Joe Burgess, who took his career tally to 200.
“It was a game where you want to take the two points and move on,” Peters said post-match. “We’ll debrief it, but I just had one of our leaders come in and iron in around the errors, which is great.
“Most players want to skim over that and don’t want to say it, but for me, having a leader straight after a game saying ‘Let’s look at that’ is a really positive sign. When you get player-driven reviews about how we can improve, I believe that’s where the magic happens.
“It shows our players believe in what we want to achieve and the outcomes, and they weren’t happy with a few things tonight which they have highlighted.
“I also thought our captain spoke really well at half-time. His last message really hit home and was really effective, direct, and to the point. I saw some really positive signs, one from Mini and the other from Jez Litten. It was player-driven, and when it’s player-driven, most of the time, you get a positive outcome.”
On Litten’s and Minchella’s performances, Peters continued: “I thought Jez was great, and Mini, the last two weeks, he is back to playing at his best. He’s worked on his process and his preparation and recovery, and he’s got that right – and it’s transferring into games.
“I thought he was very good and I thought Jez Litten was very good. Ryan Hampshire also held his own on that left side and created some opportunities. He kicked a few goals as well. There were some solid performances throughout, but there were some moments where we overplayed a little bit as well.”
Playing in spells, Rovers were frustrated by Bradford in the first half and only led 16-10 at the break. However, they had a quick-fire three-try patch in the second half that pulled them away from the away side.
“I thought we started well,” Peters said. “We scored that first try; it was nice skill, and it made us feel good and the outside backs feel good – maybe too good. We then went away from what we wanted to do.
“It was a simple game plan, be physical, and have some intent about us and earn the points. We started trying to create it and that’s where we went wrong in the first half.
“Bradford hung in there. Credit to them. They stuck to what they do every week, and we went in six points ahead, which I felt should have been more, but we didn’t deserve to be as well.
“I was then pleased with the effort and attitude to start the second half and then we went back a bit – I don’t know if we looked for the easy option or the quick fix, but we had opportunities to score in the second half and we didn’t.
“And then the most disappointing thing was when they went down the other end of the field and we had two system errors in one play; we had two markers on the inside shoulder, and they scored off the back. It was two points and that’s what we wanted, but obviously there is improvement in us, too.”
Peters also highlighted milestone man Burgess, who continues to shine bright in his third season at the club. The head coach added: “He’s been great. I knew we were getting a very good winger. He’s experienced; he’d been around the NRL, and he’s a character on and off the field.
“He’s got a personality about him. You want that in your squad: guys who have got something about them and he’s a finisher. There’s no better sight in rugby league than seeing him in open space. Yeah, Logan Moy caught him last week, but he found a way to still score that try.
“He’s been great for us and when Joe is on form and zoned in, there’s no coincidence that we are as a team as well. I’m really pleased for him that he’s got his 200th. It’s well deserved.”