Hull KR v Wigan Warriors: Willie Peters not fooled by injury talk ahead of 'tough and physical' test

Matt Peet has seen Willie Isa, Ethan Havard and Kai Pearce-Paul join the likes of Jai Field, Brad Singleton and Mike Cooper on the casualty list, forcing the Wigan head coach to dip into the club's academy.

The Warriors overcame adversity in their last outing to stun Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup, with 18-year-old prop Junior Nsemba scoring a crucial try in the comeback win.

Peters, whose side have selection issues of their own with Lachlan Coote, Jordan Abdull and George King among those sidelined, knows better than to underestimate Wigan after representing the club as a player.

"We've got some key personnel missing as well and that's going to happen throughout the year," he said.

"If you look at the young guys they brought in like Junior, he had an exceptional game. They've got a really good academy system and always have.

"You know what type of player you're going to get coming through – tough and physical. That's what they're going to bring on Thursday.

"You look at their team and it's a quality line-up."

It is the second meeting between the sides at Craven Park in the space of 13 rounds after Hull KR got the better of the Warriors on the opening weekend.

Peters is bracing his team for a typical Wigan performance as Peet's men look to set the record straight.

"We're not expecting anything different to what they brought in round one," added Peters, whose side hammered Batley Bulldogs 50-0 in the cup last week after a narrow defeat at Warrington Wolves.

"They obviously weren't happy with their performance but we still thought that they were physical and a Wigan-type team. That will be the case this Thursday.

"We're looking forward to it. It's a great challenge for us. We need to keep heading in the direction we want to head in.

"We were happy with a lot of last week's performance but there were still some areas that weren't us so we need to fix those up ready for Thursday."

Wigan are above the third-placed Robins on points difference but have lost their last two Super League games.

After coming out on the wrong side of a close contest at Hull FC, the Warriors were stunned by 12-man Leeds on home soil.

Last week's reaction at Headingley only reinforced what Peters knew already – that Wigan are a tough nut to crack.

"You look at the start and what they had for a long period and they were certainly up," he said on the Warriors' early-season form.

"There's no doubt you're going to have times where you're not playing to where you'd like to – but if you look at the quality of what they did last weekend, getting beat the week before and being down 14-0 and coming back to win the way they did, that's a Wigan team.

"We know what's coming. It's important that we focus on what we can focus on because you know what you're going to get with Wigan.

"After round one, they're going to be hungry to beat us this time around. We're not holding onto that too much. That was enjoyable for a few hours and then we had Salford the week after.

"In terms of my time at Wigan and the respect I have for them, it's right up there."

The respect is mutual with the round one result still fresh in Peet's mind.

Peet has seen Rovers go from strength to strength since that February afternoon on their way to eight wins from their opening 12 games.

“There’ll be no surprises this time,” said Peet. “They’ve been really consistent.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the way Willie has got the team playing.

“I think their effort areas and their commitment to one another has been there in pretty much every game I’ve watched of them.

“I know a few times their personnel has changed but you can see what they are about and their identity is really strong.

"You align that with some of the talent they’ve got in (Shaun) Kenny-Dowall, (Ryan) Hall, (Kane) Linnett and (Mikey) Lewis, and the two running nines (Jez) Litten and (Matt) Parcell, I think they are a team who will still be around these positions at the back end of the year,

"I don’t see them going away and I don’t see them going away during this game either. They are a really honest team and I think it’ll be a game where effort areas and energy are tested throughout.

“I look forward to it. It is definitely a challenge. They are a good team and we’ve got a lot of respect for them.”