Willie Peters' message to Hull KR players ahead of daunting Super League opener against Wigan Warriors

Wigan won the Challenge Cup and finished second in Super League in Matt Peet's first season in charge, averaging 30 points a game along the way.

Saturday's date at Craven Park in front of the Channel 4 cameras represents a challenging start for Peters – but the rookie head coach is up for the fight.

"Matt has done a wonderful job," said the Australian, who represented Wigan during his playing days.

"You know what you're going to get from Wigan – they're a quality side.

"But honestly, we're not focusing too much on them. If you focus too much on teams like St Helens and Wigan, you can get overawed.

"For us, it's about what we've done. There's a strong belief in our team about what we can do. Focusing in on that is a better approach."

The game is a repeat of the 2022 opener at Craven Park, won comfortably by Wigan.

Jai Field laid down an early marker with an electrifying performance, the highlight a long-range try from a scrum play.

Field and fellow flyer Bevan French will be marked men after sharing 55 tries last season.

While Rovers are concentrating on how they can hurt Wigan, Peters has come up with ways to nullify Wigan’s chief threats.

"The strength of Wigan is they've got a lot of quality individuals," said Peters.

"They have Bevan French and Jai Field who like space and time. Naturally, you have to take that away from them."

The Robins head into the game buoyed by a much-improved display against Leeds Rhinos in their final friendly.

After a humbling defeat at Featherstone Rovers, Peters' men found their feet on home soil in a 26-4 win.

"We needed a performance after that first game," said Peters.

"The scoreline at the end was pleasing but it was all about our performance. That definitely gave us some confidence.

"I thought our defence was rock solid. We knew from last year and previous years that it was an area we needed to strengthen and improve.

"We still played with the ball and didn't go into our shell. I don't want us to be a one-out carry team; we need to play with freedom and discipline within that.

"We got some barge-over tries but that came from moving them a little bit. I was pleased with the balance that we had.

"Our pre-season was around what we looked like against Leeds. That transferred into the friendly – but now we've got to do it in Super League."

Peters is optimistic Rovers can make an early statement by seeing off the highly-fancied Warriors.

"I've got strong belief in what we've done and we're playing at home," he added.

"We've had a good stepping stone in terms of the Featherstone game into Leeds and now into Wigan.

"The preparation has been good for it so I've got every belief in the players that they can deliver on Saturday.”