Willie Peters challenges Hull KR youngster to grasp first-team opportunity
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters
Willie Peters has challenged Hull KR hooker Bill Leyland to take his opportunity in this weekend’s Challenge Cup clash with Huddersfield Giants.
The youngster will make his first appearance of the year against Super League opposition when the Robins make the trip to West Yorkshire, with his only other game to date in 2026 coming against amateurs Lock Lane.
Leyland, who made 13 appearances across all competitions for KR last season, will get his opportunity due to suspension for Karl Lawton, and is likely to be given a run of games that will allow him to stake his claim for a place in the side.
The London Broncos product did a sound job when called upon last year, with Peters now hoping performances in training convert to a good outing on the field.
“It’s going to be up to Bill,” Peters said. “So he needs to go out and put his best foot forward. We want to have options. That’s the key to any team, is having options to be able to discuss.
“Whoever we’re playing a certain week, are they the best person for that week? We believe Bill is for this week, and he deserves his opportunity. I thought he’s had a solid pre-season. Look, I thought when we signed Karl Lawton, I thought Bill took a step in the right direction and leant into the challenge ahead.
“He didn’t lean out from it, or he didn’t shy away from Lawton coming over. He actually trained harder, and I saw a difference in his attitude, and I liked it. So yeah, he deserves his opportunity, and he’ll get it this weekend.”
Peters admitted that it is possible that he will rotate his squad this week after a busy start to the campaign for the Robins, which has come with minimal changes to the matchday squad.
“We’re going to have a full team, just about a full team to choose from, so we’ll make that decision later on in the week.
“We want to make sure, as I said, I like to reward players, but we need to develop players as well. Whether we do bring in another person, we’ll make that decision later on in the week, but I think there needs to be some freshening up, that’s for sure, so there’s a possibility.”
