Hull KR quickly bounce back to earn Peters’ praise
HULL KR boss Willie Peters said his players had done “their community and fan base proud” after bouncing back from a heavy defeat to Catalans Dragons with an impressive 26-10 win over Wigan.
Rovers, who were beaten 36-6 in Perpignan, were quick out of the blocks and caught a below-par Wigan outfit cold with two tries in the opening 12 minutes through Sauaso Sue and Oliver Gildart.
Peta Hiku’s 60-metre try gave the hosts an 18-point lead at the break but World Club champions Wigan rallied in the second half and Abbas Miski helped reduce the deficit.
However, Ryan Hall restored the home side’s advantage and Kelepi Tanginoa’s breakaway try all but sealed the points, with Wigan only able to respond through Liam Farrell’s late try.
Peters was delighted with Rovers’ response to defeat in France and warned there is even more to come from his side.
Peters, pictured, said: “The players are not happy with what we did last week and it was always going to be the players to turn that round.
“They worked hard during the week, they were extremely focused this week and shows when they put their minds to something they can achieve what they want and that’s what I’m most happy about. When you give this side a challenge they take it on and they did their community and fan base proud.
“Last week to leak 30 odd points is not us and it is unacceptable for the standards we want to be at, the players are the ones that turned it round and our defence was number one priority.”
Craig Lingard was hesitant about whether Castleford have turned a corner after thrashing London Broncos 40-0.
“We’re not under any illusions that one good performance makes a season,” Lingard said. “It’s got a good potential to get us on the front foot for the next few games and that’s what we want to do.
“We’ll use this as a bit of a stepping stone to move forward. We’re not going to turn into world champions overnight, we’re really conscious about where we are on this journey and this one victory is not going to change that.”
Tex Hoy made an instant impact on his debut, immediately breaking through London’s defensive line with his first touch for his new club before unselfishly passing to Jacob Miller to open the scoring.
After Rowan Milnes and Paul McShane had extended Castleford’s lead, Hoy burst through London’s defences again before teeing up Alex Mellor to go over unchallenged. Innes Senior struck either side of half-time and his twin brother Louis added further gloss to the scoreline.
In the Championship, Wakefield Trinity continued their winning start to the season with a 28-12 win over Toulouse on Saturday.
On Sunday, unbeaten Sheffield Eagles thrashed Barrow Raiders 540. Batley Bulldogs edged out York Knights 22-18, Bradford Bulls were pipped 14-13 at home to Widnes Vikings, while Doncaster beat Dewsbury Rams 38-12.
Featherstone Rovers overcame Whitehaven 28-24, but Halifax Panthers suffered a 28-12 home loss to Swinton.