Hull KR coach makes rotation decision as injury doubt revealed ahead of Warrington Wolves clash

Hull KR boss Willie Peters insists he will rotate as little as possible in the build-up to their Challenge Cup final showdown with Warrington Wolves, who they face in Super League this weekend.

The Robins, who currently hold a two-point lead over Wigan Warriors at the top of the Super League table, travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday night for a Round 11 clash with Warrington.

They then host St Helens at Craven Park on May 30, before taking on the Wolves again under the Wembley arch eight days later in the Challenge Cup final where KR will bid to win a first major honour in 40 years.

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Hull KR coach makes rotation decision ahead of Warrington Wolves clash

Peters and his side know Wembley heartbreak all too well having lost the 2023 Challenge Cup final to Leigh Leopards, being beaten 17-16 in Golden Point extra time.

Eight days before that final, Peters rested virtually his entire side as KR were thumped 64-6 at Wigan in Super League. The Australian won’t go down the same route again this time around.

Speaking in Tuesday afternoon’s pre-match press conference, he said: “We won’t rotate. If players don’t play, then they’re not going to be fit enough to play or we won’t want to risk them.

“It’s not going to be a rotation system. We definitely gave a rest at the weekend (against Huddersfield Giants) to two guys who have played a fair bit and who have trained a lot (in Sauaso ‘Jesse’ Sue and Peta Hiku).

“But this week, players will be playing who are able to play. This time of the year, most teams and players have got niggles, so it’s either they can play through them or they can’t.

“We want to be in a strong position going into Wembley, and the only way to do that is by performing well and picking up results. Nothing changes in that way.

“Things change every day, even in training. We’d picked a squad (for this week against Warrington), and now things have changed, or at least they could have changed.

“We’re not looking to rotate this week, and we’ll look at next week after this game because things can change a lot in 80 minutes.

“We’ve had a couple of minor issues today, so we’ve just got to wait and see with some guys. We’ll know more later in the week.

“He (Bill Leyland) trained today and then faltered again, so that’s one that we have to make a call on later in the week with his ankle.

“Richo (Danny Richardson) would probably be more that option who can come on and play half or hooker.

“He’s trained well, so I’ve certainly got faith that he could come on and do a job there.”

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‘You do learn, but we didn’t win that game because of key moments’

Only five clubs have lost more Challenge Cup finals than KR, whose record stands at one win in eight attempts – beating rivals Hull FC at Wembley in 1980.

Though the Robins’ strategy this time around differs from the one which preceded their narrow 2023 failure against Leigh, Peters insists he holds no regrets.

He explained: “You learn. You’ve got to look at evidence and then you can make better decisions.

“I think the evidence from the last two years shows that the teams who have rested (the week before the final) haven’t won, so momentum is really important going in.

“The way we’ll pick our team will be based upon who can play and who can’t play.

“We do have a different team to choose from (for the final) as opposed to what we do in Super League because of who’s available with players being cup-tied.

“We might look at it possibly next week (against St Helens) with one or two players if we think they’re best off resting, but the answer is that we’re going to look to keep going.

“I don’t have any regrets around that (decision to rest the squad in 2023), it was actually a club decision. It was the first time for a while that we’d been in a major final.

“You do learn, but we didn’t win that game (the 2023 final) because of key moments. If we nailed those moments, we’re not talking about anything to do with the week before.

“If the scoreline blew out, then you need to look at everything. We did do that, but I don’t think it had too much impact on the final.”

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