Hull KR v London Broncos: It won't be a walkover, stresses Willie Peters

London – surprise winners of last season's Championship play-offs – were effectively consigned to relegation before a ball had been kicked, forcing the capital club to come into the campaign with a hybrid squad of full and part-time players.

Mike Eccles' side have duly struggled to compete, losing 17 of their 18 games while scoring 10 points and conceding 38 on average.

In their previous two meetings with tonight’s opponents Hull KR, the Broncos lost 50-10 and 64-14.

With Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves facing off in a top-of-the-table clash on the same night, the third-placed Robins could not wish for a better game than London at home.

Ask some fans and they would suggest resting half the team with one eye on next week's crucial trip to Warrington.

Willie Peters, however, has a different view after being stung before.

"We've had discussions around it but we don't take any team lightly because if you don't turn up mentally, you can get beat," said Peters, whose only concern is the workload of captain Elliot Minchella.

"I'm a big believer in momentum as well. Last year in the Challenge Cup, we rested players the week before thinking they needed time off and then you don't win the week after. It was the same sort of thing this year.

"London have got nothing to lose. When you've got nothing to lose, you can go to an opposition's stadium, do your best and play with freedom.

"I've seen enough of London to know they're not a walkover. If you want to go in with any complacency or dip your toe in, you're in for a hard night."

Rovers have had a steely focus since suffering a humbling Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Wigan in mid-May, winning six games and losing the other in golden point.

Peters has seen enough from his team throughout his 18-month tenure to convince him they will turn up with the right attitude against struggling London.

"With the levels we're at now and the maturity we have in the team, I'd like to think that we're not going to get complacent," he added.

"There's not a great deal of the season to go so if you start to worry too far ahead or take London lightly, they'll come here and make it very tough for you. Leeds were lucky to get through the game against them a couple of weeks ago.

"There's a real maturity in this team now. We've always said we don't look at the result and use that to judge how we've gone – it's based on effort, competing and the overall performance.

"I see a team that is focused and ready to go."

A victory coupled with a win for Warrington against Wigan would leave three teams level on 28 points at the top of the table with eight rounds remaining.

Regardless of the outcome of the game at the Brick Community Stadium, the Robins would be well placed for a top-two finish and perhaps even their first piece of Super League silverware.

KR's hopes appear to rest on their away dates with Warrington and Wigan, as well as back-to-back fixtures against Catalans Dragons and St Helens.

With the play-offs to consider, Peters will wait until the right time before hyping up the players.

"The competition is too tight to look too far ahead," he said.

"We know there's a game next week against Warrington. Of course you know what's ahead as staff but we don't talk to the players about that.

"There might be a block that you look at but we don't do it every time for every four weeks or six weeks.

"I genuinely didn't know a few weeks ago what was after Warrington. Now I have a look as a coach because you need to always plan ahead – but we don't think too far ahead.

"I know what's ahead but that's not shared with the players. They just need to know what they are doing for that week."

Half-back Tyrone May loses his ever-present record due to a concussion, which could mean a first start for Danny Richardson in Hull KR colours.

Niall Evalds and James Batchelor are back in contention after recovering from injury but Peters must weigh up whether to throw the pair back in against London or give them an extra week of training.

"Every player that comes back from being injured, you need to go through protocols and have to tick off certain things from the performance team," he said.

"Then we have discussions about risks involved if they do come back and then it could be in terms of loads and minutes, so you might have to monitor and pull back on minutes on certain players.

"There are a lot of in-depth conversations that happen before a player takes the field."