Hull KR’s narrow Grand Final defeat by Wigan Warriors will only add to the side’s growing belief that they are a Super League force to be reckoned with, says head coach Willie Peters.
A stunning solo effort from Bevan French was the only try of the game, as Wigan secured an unparalleled quadruple with a 9-2 win in wet and blustery conditions at Old Trafford.
Peters said he was “proud of his players and what they have done all season”, with the team also having fallen just short of the League Leaders’ Shield as they finished second in the regular season table to Wigan.
“The journey was never going to end tonight, even if we won,” Peters told BBC Radio Humberside.
“We will learn so much from tonight, and we will learn a lot from the season.”
Hull KR became just the 10th side to reach a Super League Grand Final in the modern-day competition’s history.
Their defeat to Wigan means there are still only four clubs to have won the northern hemisphere’s biggest prize.
Pushing Warriors in the decider, however, is the highest-profile proof of Hull KR’s transformation in recent years.
Just eight years ago they were relegated to the Championship, and as recently as the Covid-impacted 2020 campaign they finished bottom of the Super League table.
This season is the furthest they have gone in pursuit of the Super League title, but they have reached the play-offs in three of the past four seasons.
Their Old Trafford defeat comes just a season after they were beaten at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final by Leigh Leopards.
“We talk about having belief in this group,” Peters said. “Belief shouldn’t come and go; we should get a lot more belief from what we have just done tonight.
“We believe we will be better next year, and we will be better next year because we have been together for a couple of years.”
‘We never gave in’
The Australian coach said Wigan’s experience of performing on big occasions and the “freak” impact of French proved crucial in a game of “fine margins”.
“It was just moments – literally one try was the difference, and we had enough time off the back of that but they iced their moment and we didn’t,” Peters added.
“We never gave in and that is what Hull KR people do – they have 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, we played a very good team that knows how to win those games and they took their moments.”