WILLIE PETERS took charge of Hull KR at Sewell Group Craven Park for the final time and declared: “I’ll always be a Robin.”
Rovers made sure of their place in the play-offs with a game to spare by beating Huddersfield Giants 36-6.
But the preceding run of three straight defeats means the top four and a home play-off tie is now out of reach.
Hull KR still have ambitions to defend their Super League title so Peters has plenty of work ahead of him before leaving for the PNG Chiefs, but it was an emotional night against Huddersfield nonetheless.
“I want to finish the job first, but there’s no doubt coming here tonight it was going to be emotional,” he said.
“I have a routine of what I do (at home games) and knowing it was to be the last time in the coaching box probably hasn’t sunk in yet.
“I’m the proudest coach in the world when I’m in that box at Craven Park and I won’t be able to do that anymore.
“I’ll always be a Robin and this club will always mean so much to me and my family, and coaching here was a unique opportunity and a unique experience.”
“It is a sad time, but the job’s not done yet and we need to make sure that we finish the job the best we can.”
Hull KR scored six tries to see off Huddersfield and Peters reflected: “We had to work hard for it.
“At 36-6 it might indicate that is was a lot easier then it was and it wasn’t. Huddersfield are a good team and they work hard for each other.
“I am happy we had a really good start, and I thought we then went away from that. I thought we would build into the game again and we ground it away and found further points late on which was good.
“We didn’t score any points in the first 20 minutes of the second half except for a penalty-goal, but we did find a way in the end to get points on the board.”