Everything Willie Peters said after Hull KR’s Grand Final defeat

Willie Peters sat down with the media after Hull KR’s Super League Grand Final defeat to Wigan Warriors, with a number of topics on the agenda.

Rovers‘ wait for a first major trophy since 1985 will continue into a 40th year, after they were beaten 9-2 to watch the Warriors complete an unprecedented and historic quadruple.

Here is everything Peters said on the key issues.

What are your immediate reactions and emotions?

I’m proud of the players. I’m proud of what they’ve done all season – not only tonight. We never gave in and that’s what Hull KR people do. They’ve got to work hard and be resilient. That’s in our DNA and we showed that again tonight.

Although we were on the wrong end of the scoreboard, they know how to win games. I’m extremely proud to be head coach of this team. The players didn’t let anyone down tonight.

It’s just moments. It was one try that was the difference. It wasn’t just that in terms of having enough time off the back of that but they iced their moments and we didn’t. It’s fine margins in this game. We didn’t ice our moments.

I thought we were on top and then they scored that try. We went set for set with them and it was a grinding style, which it would be in these conditions. But there were minimal errors and I thought we were on top and then we let that try in. Once they got that field goal to make it seven, even though it’s only seven and we were positive, they were always going to be hard to run down.

What did you think of Mikey Lewis’ disallowed try?

I think it was a knock-on.

Bevan French’s performance..

He’s a freak isn’t he. He can do things other players can’t. Wigan are still the leaders in this competition and they showed it again tonight.

How much do the players need to remember these moments?

You do. But at the moment I think it hurts enough for the players. We’ll look at ways we can be better. We talk about having belief in this group and belief shouldn’t come and go. We should take a lot more belief from what we’ve done tonight.

What were your thought processes behind going for goal 7-0 behind?

They’re a difficult team to score against and getting one try is easier than two. If it’s 7-0 and you go to 7-6, you’ve still got to get two tries. One is easier than getting two.

A devastating finish for Ryan Hall and Matt Parcell..

It’s extremely difficult to lose any Grand Final. The way Hally played tonight, he showed he’s a machine and he’s still doing what he’s doing. I thought Matt had a very good game tonight too.

Can the club build on this?

There’s tears in their eyes because they care so much. They care about the club and as a coach that’s all I want. Come to work every day and get better.

How do you get over this?

We need to self-reflect and look at what I do better. If everyone does that we’ll move forward. But we’re not far off. It’s fine margins. We’ll dissect the game and have a review because there’s some things we can do better to improve.

How much of an impact did the weather have?

We wanted to play direct. We knew it was going to be wet and the way they defend, they’ll pick you up and throw you over the sidelines if you go near it. We wanted to play for a reason and I think the first half, they squashed us and that’s what they do. We just didn’t ice our moments, that’s what it comes down to.

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