At around 5ft 5in (1.65m) tall, Willie Peters was a crafty, skilful “larrikin” half-back as a player who made the grade in Australia’s National Rugby League with South Sydney, but then switched to the other side of the world to join new Super League franchise Gateshead Thunder in 1999.
Wigan came calling in 2000, and he featured in that season’s Grand Final against St Helens before heading back to Australia to play for St George Illawarra and then Souths again before a short stint at Widnes brought his career to an end.
It was those opportunities that prompted Peters to move from an established assistant with spells at Manly, Souths and Newcastle to take on the top job in an environment on the other side of the world.
His enthusiasm for the game, respect for the competition and shrewd eye helped launch Rovers from the start.
In 2023, they reached the Challenge Cup final before losing to Leigh in golden point, and in 2024, they made the Grand Final before bowing out to Bevan French’s brilliance in a narrow defeat by old team Wigan.
However, 2025 saw that disappointment finally banished by Rovers, with silverware stacking up.
Peters sold his players the ambition but also the reason why. For themselves, for the club, and equally as importantly – the community.
“It’s really addictive, the feeling of winning,” captain Elliot Minchella told BBC Sport. “It’s something you can’t measure, compared to anything else I’ve ever felt before.
“I want to go through those feelings again, those emotions of winning, seeing the emotions flood out of thousands of people, but also the people at the top of our club, the owners, board of directors, to see the joy that it brought to them, the relief. That’s a massive privilege to be able to give those people that emotion.
“That’s not lost on us.”
