You can’t hold on to Cup defeat for too long – Peters
COACH SAYS KR MUST LOOK AHEAD TO LONDON BATTLE
Willie Peters has instructed his Hull KR to move on from their disappointing Challenge Cup defeat. The Robins have been reflecting on a tough weekend in which they were emphatically dumped out of the cup by Wigan Warriors, bringing an end to their hopes of returning to Wembley.
But Peters insists it is important that the side don’t dwell on the setback and turn their attention to what’s up next.
That comes in the shape of a London Broncos side that will be full of confidence after beating Hull FC last time out.
The Robins head to the capital looking for a return to winning ways and to start a block of matches that, on first viewing, provide an opportunity to put a run of games together.
Seven of Rovers’ next eight matches are against teams currently in the bottom half of Super League but similarly, Peters is keen that they don’t look too far ahead either.
“The one thing I’m confident you need to do is learn and not forget,” Peters said. “But that said, it’s not ideal that we’re out of the cup but you certainly can’t hold onto it for too long.
“One thing I admired about the group last year is how we handled the loss at Wembley and went on after that.
“That’s all we need to focus on, what we can do moving forward, and that’s what we can do in London this weekend.
“There’s enough experience in this group to know if you hold on to something for too long, it will affect your next job, and that’s in games; we’ve spoken about it in games that we’re not defending as well as we want to and not handling some moments, but it’s about not holding on to what’s happened and going on to your next job.”
A great deal was made of Rovers’ last five-game sequence, one in which was quite contrasting to the next block incoming. They played teams all in the top half of the competition, winning two and losing three.
Peters believes that was a fair indication of their performances too, with a goal now set to become a more consistent side.
“It’s there to be seen – it was mixed. We had a couple of great performances against Wigan and the Saints, and then a couple of down ones,” he said.
“It’s mixed; it’s inconsistent, but in saying that the wins showed the heights we can get to, now it’s about staying consistent with that and not having the best and worst too far away because, at the moment, it is.”