Hull KR coach proud in defeat with Wigan Warriors 'benchmark' admission made

The Robins’ unbeaten start to the 2025 campaign came to an end on Friday evening as they were defeated 28-12 by reigning champions Wigan in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final.

Hull KR had led 12-6 at half-time thanks to first half tries from Joe Burgess and Peta Hiku, but the Warriors scored 22 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win in East Hull.

“I thought we put in a great effort, we competed hard and I thought we had control of that game for a long period of time,” said Peters. “But there was a set when we forced an offload and it was a negative play basically, then we kicked and they were on the front foot and then in that set, we gave a six-again and they scored on the back of it. That’s when the momentum changed and they went away with it towards the back end. I don’t think the score reflected how close and tight the game was, but it was certainly there to be won.

“I thought we were quite dominant and in control of field position (until the hour mark). It was tight, that’s what games against Wigan are like, you’ve just got to keep going for 80 minutes and unfortunately, we didn’t and we paid at the end.

“We’re not delighted, it’s not a delighted changing room, it’s a disheartened one, one that knows there was an opportunity there, there’s no doubt about that.

“We’ve got to judge ourselves by the way we turned up. We’ve had a big campaign so far, last week (derby) was built up, so other teams could go the other way with that game, but there is a lot of fight in this team so I’m proud of that, but there certainly comes a stage where, and I suppose it’s more relevant when it’s knockout time when it’s time to actually win games otherwise you’re out, that’s where you can go ‘well, it’s not good enough’. For now, performance is everything, and it’s a performance that we’re proud of, but we obviously didn’t get the two points, so we need to get better, but we’re okay with it.”

Peters didn’t have any complaints with the decisions from the match officials in the game, with the Robins boss declaring the main difference was Wigan making the most of their opportunities.

“No, no, the difference between the two teams is that they do take their opportunities, they are very good at taking their opportunities and that’s something we need to do,” he added.

“When there is an opportunity there because you don’t get too many of them often, you need to make the most of it. There were some decisions that went against, but I’m not going to be looking or blaming that, we got beat on the scoreboard tonight from Wigan, not the decisions.”

Asked if Wigan’s performance was the best they have come up against so far in 2025, Peters replied: “They’re the benchmark, aren’t they? We took them to the end, we were in it for large periods, we’ve been beaten the last sort of three games now and they’ve got us towards that back end, the Grand Final they were in front for the majority of that game, but we’ll keep plugging away.

“We’re building, there’s no doubt about that. We’re not the finished product, we know that, but we’re certainly building as a club on and off the field. You can lose games and still be proud, and I’m proud of my players tonight.”