Hull KR boss Willie Peters dissects Grand Final loss, reviews Mikey Lewis-Tyrone May pairing and puts rumour to bed

The Hull KR full-back was outfoxed by French's footwork and Wigan Warriors had one hand on the Super League trophy, even at 6-0.

French's stunning solo effort proved to be the only try of the 2024 Grand Final in a hard-fought 9-2 win for the all-conquering Warriors.

In a game of fine margins, it is little wonder that Rovers boss Willie Peters looks back on French's try as the defining moment.

But like all good coaches, Peters has looked at what his side could have done to prevent the ball from landing in French's hands in the first place.

In the blink of an eye, the Robins went from an attacking set from a drop-out to chasing shadows.

The post-match review showed that the game began to slip away the moment KR died with the ball at the end of a disjointed set.

"It came down to little moments," said Peters.

"Leading up to the try, we went away from what we planned. Our key spine members didn't touch the ball – Mikey (Lewis) didn't touch the ball once or connect once with Tyrone (May) in that set – and Bevan didn't make one tackle. If he makes a couple of tackles in that set, do we see him in the next yardage set? We probably don't.

"That was a key set and we were in survival mode. We didn't ask any questions. We ran a block play when we knew (Jake) Wardle was going to jump out of the line. We did the things we planned not to do.

"They had the opposite mindset – Bevan gets the ball and he's in attack mode, slices through and scores.

"There were other key moments but that one highlighted to me where we were at. It's good learning for us. We've got to look at how we can be better as staff when delivering messages and the players have to take accountability and ownership too."

The Robins missed two chances to end their 39-year wait for a major trophy to complete a hat-trick of defeats to Wigan in big games.

Rovers bounced back from a Challenge Cup semi-final hammering in Doncaster to push the Warriors all the way in Super League, only to fall agonisingly short in the League Leaders' Shield decider and Grand Final.

In the same way that KR were architects of their own downfall at Old Trafford, Peters' men had control of the final league fixture before losing their grip on the back of a loose kick by May that was not part of the script.

"I'm not going to call it a frustration because it's a chance to learn," added Peters on the small moments that cost Rovers silverware.

"The good thing is we're talking about moments now to win a Grand Final. What we've got to do is win more moments than the opposition next time we're there.

"It shows how far we've come, especially from the semi-final we played against Wigan in the Challenge Cup. That wasn't a KR performance. We were blown off the park that day.

"The better side won on the night (of the Grand Final) and I'm not going to take anything away from Wigan but we'll certainly take our learnings."

Lewis twice went close to scoring but was otherwise well marshalled by the Wigan defence, leading some KR fans to turn their attention to half-back partner May.

Peters agrees with the view that May needs to take some of the responsibility off the Man of Steel's shoulders.

"When we got those two guys together, especially after round one, it was clear we had to work out who was going to manage our attack and own last plays," said Peters.

"It wasn't natural to them. Tyrone played off the back of Mitchell Pearce and Nathan Cleary, and Mikey played off the back of Jordan (Abdull) and his best attribute is his running game.

"The guys worked that out really well. Mikey's long kicking game was one of the best in the comp but certainly where we can improve and where he needs help is the shorter kicking game.

"Most teams have one kicker. Harry Smith does most of the kicking for Wigan but they have Bevan there as an option. We certainly need to have an option. That's an area I want Tyrone to work harder in.

"It did become too predictable that Mikey was going to get the ball. It worked for us a lot of the year but in the big games you need to have a little bit more.

"Having options and both halves being able to kick is something we're certainly looking at. I want to see more connection from them."

If confirmation were needed, May will link back up with Lewis next year despite rumours of an early exit for the Australian.

"There's nothing in that," said Peters. "His missus is having a baby within the next week and he'll be back on January 2."

Once the full squad is together, the Robins will begin the long road back to Old Trafford.

Two months have passed since the Grand Final but the pain will linger until Rovers finally scratch their trophy itch.

"You've got to move on but it needs to hurt," said Peters. "If it doesn't hurt, you probably don't care enough.

"All of us will still be hurting in some sort of way but the key is to use it as motivation. That's what we'll certainly be doing.

"Wigan were too good in the end but we had our chances. We're working hard in pre-season to give ourselves another shot."