HULL KR head coach Willie Peters has paid tribute to his captain Elliot Minchella after the latter racked up his 300th career appearance in Rovers’ 44-0 thrashing of Castleford Tigers.
Minchella has been in great form in recent weeks as the Robins look to right the wrongs of earlier in the season with a play-off spot looking increasingly likely.
As Rovers look to back up their treble-winning campaign in 2025, Peters, after touching upon his decision to make Minchella captain ahead of the 2024 Super League season, believes the former Bradford star is the man leading the way after a difficult number of months.
“I want to pay tribute to our captain, he has had to do it the hard way and that’s what has made him the player he is today,” Peters said.
“Nothing has ever come easy to us and I will never forget when we had our first conversation about him being captain.
“I had him in my mind that he would be best suited to being captain and then he spoke about why he wanted to and I loved his approach.
“I thought that was the first step to him being our leader. And what he’s done since then he is going to be known as the captain that won the treble.
“Playing at Bradford, playing in the Championship for quite a period of time, he has grafted hard to get where he has got to.
“I think he has been really positive and is back to his best. He’s a person the players listen to and when he talks everyone listens.
“He wanted to be captain and he’s exceeded expectations of what I thought he could do, especially when he’s gone through some tough periods.
“It’s easy when you’re winning trebles but Elliot probably wasn’t playing his best rugby earlier in the season and we, as a club, were getting people questioning us.
“That’s when you need your leaders to stand up and he’s led the way.”