Hull KR boss Willie Peters pays York Knights ultimate compliment as Mark Applegarth takes positives from defeat

The Robins booked their place in the fourth round of the Challenge Cup but had to weather an early storm against their Championship hosts.

Former KR full-back Will Dagger kicked York into an early lead and the hosts kept Peters' men scoreless in the opening quarter.

But the Robins eventually wore York down and showed their class as the tie opened up to complete a 44-2 win.

"We're reasonably happy with that performance," said Peters.

"York are a very good Championship team and we knew what we were going to get early. To me, it looked like two Super League teams the way they went set for set. It took us a long time to get over the top of them.

"What I was most pleased about was that everything didn't go our own way in that first 25 but from a mentality point of view, we stuck to our task and got through it. Our defence was the area that was most pleasing.

"Our players are full-time and fitness-wise we probably got them at the back end but full credit to Mash (Mark Applegarth) and his team. They stuck at it and are going to have a successful season."

York claimed a play-off place against the odds under Applegarth in the second half of last season and appear well set to challenge again despite Friday's one-sided result.

Applegarth took positives from his side's display against the 2024 Super League Grand Finalists.

"It's not often you're proud after a 40-point scoreline but Hull KR are a quality outfit and for 25-30 minutes we were competing really well," said Applegarth.

"The pace of the game started to show on us and we started dropping off contacts.

"I'm really proud of the effort from our lads. It's a good leveller for us going into next week but also some good lessons in terms of our defensive systems and sticking to them when we're tired and not trying to solve things by ourselves."