Hull KR: Play-off home tie the aim for boss Willie Peters after win over Catalans Dragons
Willie Peters has set a new target for his Hull KR team - Alamy
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has urged his side to target 4th spot in Super League, and with it a home tie in the play-offs, following their 26-18 victory against Catalans Dragons at Craven Park.
Trailing 14-12 at the break, the Robins completed a second half turnaround with tries from Jack Walker – who will depart at the end of the year – and Mikey Lewis seeing them leapfrog Salford Red Devils and get back into the top six.
A play-off spot, as yet, is far from secure for KR with Salford – who they still have to face – still only two competition points below them. Warrington Wolves also sit two below, but a win for the Wire tomorrow against Castleford Tigers would see them go trade places with Peters’ side.
Nonetheless, confidence is high in East Hull, where a 4th-place finish is the target set to his players by the Australian boss.
Hull KR will hunt the Leopards down in race for 4th
Last Friday night, KR hammered Leigh on home soil, winning 52-10. The Leopards saw their home game against Huddersfield Giants abandoned tonight following a floodlight failure.
As it stands, they’re in 4th, two competition points above the Robins with a game in hand. And Leigh – who beat them in the Challenge Cup final last month – are the team Peters wants to hunt down. They need to finish 4th – or 3rd – to get a home tie.
He said: “If we can chase a home tie that would be great. I remember saying at the start of the year how competitive the competition was.
“From top to bottom it’s very competitive and that’s what you want to play for. I’m really proud of the players and the staff.
“Catalans are a really good team. Last week’s win and then this week as well. You have got to go through experiences to learn.
“The resilience shown by the team shows the character. That will give the players a lot of belief now. I couldn’t single out individuals because I thought collectively they were good.
“We had a block of games which we looked at which were the last three. We’ve achieved what we wanted to although we didn’t win all three games.”
Robins’ run-in: Play-off race
After their Challenge Cup final defeat, Peters’ side were beaten away from home by champions St Helens.
But since then, the two wins against Leigh and Catalans at Craven Park have put their destiny in their own hands when it comes to the play-offs.
The Robins travel to Huddersfield Giants next Friday night before hosting Salford live in front of the Sky Sports cameras. They’ll be without Elliot Minchella for the trip to Huddersfield as he took a blow to his head tonight against the Dragons.
If they can pick up victories in both of those games, it would surely be enough to seal a top six spot.
KR’s last game sees them go to Wakefield Trinity, who could well still need to win to stay up, so they will without doubt want to get their job done by then.
The Super League run-in is analysed here, with every club’s remaining fixtures detailed, and the play-off race examined along with the race for the League Leaders’ Shield.
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