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Hull KR head coach Willie Peters believes pundit Jon Wilkin was right to say his side are stuck in a ‘doom loop’ amid their mid-season slump.
Reigning Super League champions KR won all three domestic major honours available to them last year, creating history aplenty, before adding to their haul by winning the World Club Challenge back in February.
But beating NRL kings Brisbane Broncos remains their high of a turbulent campaign to date, with their Super League title defence thus far not up to standard.
Ahead of Thursday night’s derby away against rivals Hull FC, the Robins sit seventh on the ladder, and are now embroiled in a battle just to make the play-offs.
‘We’ve spoken about who we are and what we’re going to be about’
Rovers’ only win in their last four games came at Magic Weekend earlier this month against cross-city foes FC, but even that performance left a lot to be desired.
After Peters’ side were beaten 34-12 at Warrington Wolves last weekend, Sky Sports pundit Wilkin pulled no punches in his assessment as he fired: “The players have tossed it in the last two weeks. They’ve just not been good enough.
“They’ve made stupid errors, they’ve given petulant penalties, they’ve given away penalties with the ball. They’ve then, off the back of it, not had the resilience to defend it, which is what Hull KR always had.
“They’ve just got in this repetitive doom loop of errors, penalties, lacking energy, poor defensive decisions, more errors, more penalties, poor defensive decisions, and that is the cycle that they’re in.”
And Peters did not argue against those comments when asked about them during Wednesday morning’s pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Hull FC.
The Australian, who will depart for the NRL and PNG Chiefs come the end of the season, admitted: “At the moment, he’s right, if you’re going by the last couple of games.
“We can use any excuse (for the slump), and there are a lot of reasons. We’re talking internally with the board around why we’re in this situation or why I believe we’re in this situation, but that doesn’t help the next ten weeks.
“You’ve got to push through it, you’ve only got two options… you either run towards it or say, ‘I’ve had enough’.
“This team, this club and this community aren’t about that, that’s been our DNA.
“We’ve spoken about who we are and what we’re going to be about.”
‘It doesn’t matter what we’ve done, all I care about now is what we do going forward’
Beaten Challenge Cup finalists back in May, it now appears the Super League Leaders’ Shield is beyond the Robins’ grasp.
Accordingly, the only one of their three domestic major honours from last season that can be successfully defended is the Super League title, a feat hard to envision given their current woes.
A little over 24 hours out from an absolutely pivotal derby clash at the MKM Stadium, head coach Peters’ message was clear as he explained: “Tomorrow night is about doing it together.
“If you fall short and you’re doing everything right, you can accept that.
“There are genuine reasons (for the slump), but it sounds like we’re making excuses.
“As I said, it doesn’t matter what we’ve done, all I care about now is what we do going forward.”
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