Hull KR v Wigan Warriors preview: Here is everything you need to know ahead of tonight's game

This will be Matty Peet's first competitive outing as head coach, while a number of new recruits could make their debuts.

Wigan will be hoping on an improvement on last year's campaign, where they finished fourth in the regular season, before being knocked out in their first playoff game.

Opposition:

Hull KR shocked quite a few people last season as they ended the regular season sat in sixth in the table, before making it to the playoff semi-finals.

This was a vast improvement on the previous two years, where they had finished in 11th place on both occasions.

They will be hoping to build on the last campaign, and continue to prove any critics wrong.

The coach:

Tony Smith has proven to be a great appointment by The Robins, and since joining the club in 2019 he has slowly improved the side.

Prior to his move to Hull, he had coached Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves, as well as Great Britain and England.

Ahead of the game, he said: "It will certainly give us a good indication of how much we need to improve and in which areas.

“I don’t think any team will be at their very very best in round one, the weather is not usually conducive to great rugby league at this time of the year, especially with us all being a bit rusty."

Key man:

The addition of Lachlan Coote will only be a good thing for Rovers and is a superb bit of business.

During his time in Super League, the fullback has shown his class, being a major part of St Helens' success, helping them win the Grand Final on three occasions.

The 31-year-old is someone to be very wary of, with Wigan knowing only too well the quality he possesses.

Previous meetings:

During the two meetings between the sides last season, it will Hull KR who came out on top.

In round 10 they produced an 18-8 victory, before winning 26-14 at Craven Park nine rounds later.

Overall in the Super League era, it is still Wigan who have been the more dominant side, winning 22 of the 32 games between the sides.

Final thoughts:

This is a tough one to call because neither side will be at their absolute best during week one.

Both coaches will be looking for positives to take from the match, and will hope the result will be one of them.

It will be interesting how the new additions for both teams do, with plenty of quality ready to be unleashed.

If they perform like they did during pre-season, Wigan could just edge this one.

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