Hull KR head coach Willie Peters revealed his pride in his youthful side despite their 46-0 defeat to Wigan Warriors – with one moment in the closing seconds summing up his feelings.
Wigan paid an emotional tribute to rugby league legend Sir Billy Boston before kick-off, with Hull KR owner Neil Hudgell among those on the field to honour the icon, who died earlier this week aged 92.
The Robins were forced into wholesale changes due to a hectic schedule, with three players marking their debuts – including a start for academy product Frankie Dearlove.
Dec Murphy and Alfie Woods were introduced from the interchange bench to make their debuts, while Harvey Horne made his Super League debut and Lee Kershaw made his first competition appearance for the Robins.
Louix Gorman, Noah Booth, Jack Charles and Zach Fishwick also featured, with Fishwick making his first senior appearance since 2022.
Liam Marshall crossed for a hat-trick alongside a brace for Zach Eckersley in Wigan’s Round 25 victory, and further tries from Jai Field, Adam Keighran and Jake Wardle in appalling conditions.
“I’m really proud of the performance in terms of we had a young side tonight and the players didn’t stop fighting until the end,” said Peters.
“We played against a very good team who are extremely disciplined and give you nothing.
“I had a look at the performance and the inexperienced we had in this team tonight, and the main thing is we said they need to fight for everything, and we gave them a few things, but I felt they did the badge proud.
“We had two guys on their senior debut – Alfie Woods and Frankie Dearlove, who didn’t stop trying. Especially Frankie, who played the full game. I’m proud of that.”
Having been promoted to the senior squad ahead of 2026, back-rower Dearlove was inches away from marking his senior bow with a try in the second half – only to be denied due to a fantastic last-ditch effort from Wigan superstar Bevan French.
“Well that’s Wigan and Bevan French,” Peters responded.
“They fight for everything. Frankie has probably learned that pretty quickly. He was an inch away, but that speaks volumes of Wigan and what they’re about. They chased the zero, and they were professional tonight.”
And it was a defensive effort in the final 12 seconds that perhaps best summed up Hull KR’s effort.
With Eckersley diving for the corner in search of his hat-trick, several Rovers players scrambled across to deny him late on.
“That summed it up for me,” Peters said. “People probably think I’m crazy for saying I’m proud of the team, but you look at performance and effort.
“I showed two clips at half-time that I wasn’t overly happy with, they were choice-based, but they fixed it in the second-half, even on the 80th minute. They still managed to want to save a try, which they did.”
Ex-Wigan playmaker Peters also paid tribute to Boston following the emotional ceremony before the game.
The icon ended the sport’s 130-year wait for a knighthood last year when he received the honour at Buckingham Palace.
He said: “A legend and an icon of the game. I remember meeting him 25 years ago when I was here, but the memories I’ve got more prominently came while I was coaching.
“You walk up the stairs here (at The Brick Community Stadium) and see him with a big smile on his face.
“An absolute legend at Wigan and of the game itself, he’s going to be missed by many people.
“You can see the tribute tonight that Wigan did, they’re a classy club and they know how to celebrate one of their own.
“He’s someone that’s bigger than the game.”