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Willie Peters talks Craven Park memories ahead of last dance as Hull KR tasked with doing community proud - Serious About Rugby League

Serious About Rugby League · Sam Brocksom · 2026-09-02T14:32:29+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Willie Peters doesn’t know whether he will get emotional on Friday night, with Hull KR v Huddersfield Giants potentially the last game he coaches at Craven Park. Peters, who will depart the Robins at the end of the season to join the PNG Chiefs, has called East Hull his home for the past four seasons, but with the Robins highly unlikely to finish in the top four of the play-offs, it means that Friday’s tie with Huddersfield is set to be his final game in the coaches’ box at Craven Park. The Robins travel to St Helens next week, and if they do make the six, they will play all their finals games away from home due to where they will finish. With that in mind, Peters spent time during this week’s press conference to reflect on some of his best memories of Craven Park, with his first game there being one of his most memorable. He told the media: “Every time I’ve coached here, I’ve been the proudest coach in the world sitting in that box, and nothing will change this week. I’ve got one more opportunity to do that. “I just want to be able to look out on that park one more time and just look at a team that this community and fan base are proud of. It’s important that they do that with their actions this week. It’s important that we put in a strong performance for the fans, and the last time that we will be here. “It was incredible seeing the fans go to Wigan the other day. Obviously, the conditions, the weather, the traffic getting back for a lot of them, with road closures, it took three or four hours for people to get back but they always support their team and they get a chance to support their team one more time in 2026 at Craven Park and the players need to make sure they put in a strong performance for them.” Peters’ maiden game in charge at Craven Park would be his first meeting against Wigan Warriors – a side he has forged a big rivalry against during his tenure as boss. “I remember after the game,” he said. “For me, it was like winning a semi-final, going into a Grand Final, the way I was feeling. Then I saw our owner Neil Hudgell, and I learned a fair bit about who he was as a man and what he was about. “You could see that he was just really calm and cool. His motivation, what he wanted to do was just go on that field and play with his grandkids and kick a ball. I’ll always remember that moment of what this club was about and what people we had involved in the club. “Don’t ride the highs too high and the lows too low. That was something that stuck with me, just seeing Neil that day. As I said, probably my feelings was heightened because we’d just beaten Wigan.” Commenting on other big moments over the past four seasons, Peters explained: “There’s been a lot. That’s obviously the first one, but going into beating Warrington to get in the Grand Final in 24 was pretty cool as well. “When I come down to Craven Park, I always drive past and drive down and watch people come in. That’s East Hull for me. You see families walking in. You see partners walking in. You see best friends walking in. It doesn’t matter who it is. There’s all these different people from all different walks of life and they’re all coming in to do the same thing and that’s support their team. It brings everyone together. “I’m proud every time I’m sitting in that box of being coach of this club. I’ll get an opportunity to do that one more time. When I come to the stadium, as I said, I’ve always got the same routine, what I do, and I’ll get to do that one more time.” Asked whether he will get emotional post-match, Peters replied: “I don’t like being emotional, but sometimes you can’t help it. “As I say, I just want to make sure that we go out and make sure we play and put in a performance that we’re all proud of and our community are proud of. That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do and achieve is make them proud. The moment you do that, we’ve had success along the way.”