Willie Peters delivers passionate plea as pathway laid out for Super League to bridge NRL gap

Hull KR boss Willie Peters insists Super League has already bridged the gap to the NRL considerably, but wants more work to be put into improving the British game’s second-grade competition to aid that battle.

Super League will take another step on the ladder of trying to catch the NRL on Saturday evening as Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves do battle in Las Vegas as part of the Australian-led rugby league extravaganza in Sin City.

That game follows World Club Challenge triumphs against Penrith Panthers for St Helens and Wigan Warriors in 2023 and 2024 respectively, with an international men’s Test Series between England and the Kangaroos also coming up at the end of this year.

There are few better placed to give their verdict on the state of affairs on both sides of the globe than Peters, who has plenty of experience – both as a player and a coach – in the British game and Down Under.

LRL EXCLUSIVE: Brian Carney insists rugby league is ahead of union to crack US market ahead of Las Vegas history

Hull KR boss Willie Peters delivers passionate plea as pathway laid out for Super League to bridge NRL gap

After hanging up his boots, Sydney native Peters had stints as an assistant coach with Manly Sea Eagles, the Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights prior to joining KR.

On the gap between Super League and the NRL, the Australian told LoveRugbyLeague: “The top teams over here, if they played over there, they’d still be competing and looking to be at the top of the table.

“The difference for me was the difference between the top four-to-six teams here, and then your lower teams. That’s certainly changed now, because anyone can beat anyone on their day and our competition here is similar.

“It’s heading towards what the NRL is, because week-to-week, it’s tough, it’s grinding and it’s gruelling over there.

“(The gap that still exists), it’s because of the depth and that next tier. The guys there that aren’t playing (first-grade) are still playing at a strong level, whether it be in the New South Wales Cup or in the Queensland Cup.

“What we need to do, and I’ve spoken about it many times, is to get that next tier right so the guys here that aren’t playing are still playing at a high level each week.

“As an example, someone like Lee Kershaw, if he doesn’t go to Castleford (on loan), then Lee’s not playing at the moment.

“We might have a reserves competition that you’re playing in every couple of weeks, so how’s he then getting better every week and getting that next level. Then, he comes into Super League and it’s a massive spike.

“We’re really closing that gap overall here I think, because in Super League now, team one can get beaten by team 12, and that’s what you want to have.

“I think you only have to look at Wigan because they’ve given a lot of credibility to our competition. If anyone says differently, then they’re the current world champions and they won all four trophies last year. There’s no arguments there.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: World Club Challenge heading for Las Vegas in 2026 as Super League ‘invites’ sent

‘We’ve got to keep getting that next tier right so that we’re developing those guys and when they come in, the product doesn’t dip too much’

Peters, now 45, has been in charge at Craven Park since the start of the 2023 campaign, leading the Robins to a Challenge Cup final as well as their inaugural Super League Grand Final.

Last season, Matt Peet’s all-conquering Wigan side beat them in both the Challenge Cup semi-finals and the Grand Final.

But he believes that the Robins – and ever-developing Super League sides like them – will only help the competition.

He continued: “Over in Australia, it was always a viewpoint of, ‘the top four teams (in Super League) are the only ones who’ve ever won it’, including Bradford when they were in, of course. That still is the case, but it’s changed now in the sense of possibility.

“I look at Wakefield, they’re a very good team. They had a few players out when we played them last week, and the players they brought in did just a good a job as those that would have probably played (as first-choice) would have done.

“Us and teams like Leigh are certainly growing and there’s a lot going on off the field, but there’s a team like Wakefield as well that are a really strong club now compared to where they were two years ago.

“Obviously, they’ve got new ownership and that’s the key – having owners that are invested in growing the club and that understand what it takes to be a top club.

“Wigan have done it for years. I was lucky enough to play for Wigan, so I understand the culture and how that works there.

“You look at our investment, our board, the people that we’ve got, and it’s the same now at Wakefield and Leigh, and it certainly closes that gap.

“I’m sure the so-called ‘top’ teams of the past would agree that the competition is a lot healthier than it used to be.

“Anyone can beat anyone on their day now, so the area we’ve got to keep getting right is that next tier so that we’re developing those guys and when they come in, the product doesn’t dip too much. Hopefully we get there.”

LRL EXCLUSIVE: Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves to take Super League game on road in 2026 with locations explored