The Yorkshire Post's rugby league correspondent, James O'Brien, looks ahead to this weekend's Super League Grand Final encounter at Old Trafford between Hull Kingston Rovers and Wigan Warriors
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00:00We're joined by James O'Brien, the Yorkshire Post rugby league correspondent.
00:14We're here to discuss, yes, you guessed it, Super League grand final, Saturday, Old Trafford,
00:186pm, I think, James?
00:19It is.
00:20Hull KR versus Wigan Warriors, obviously massive interest for us regarding Hull KR, which you'll
00:26have noticed, given the Yorkshire Post throughout the week with James' excellent coverage.
00:30I'm just going to run through a few things ahead of the final, and we're just going to
00:34start off with James, ahead of the final.
00:39Is it fair to say that Wigan go in as favourites?
00:41Yeah, that's fair.
00:44The best team in the world at the moment, they hold all the trophies, they were last
00:50denied a trophy last year when they lost to Hull KR in the semi-finals of the Challenge
00:54Cup.
00:55It's a very long time ago now, so yeah, they're a group of winners, they know how to win these
01:01big games.
01:02They've not only beaten English sides this season, they've beaten Penrith as well, and
01:05they've won the last four in our all-ground finals.
01:08So that underlines just how difficult this task is for Hull KR, on the biggest stage
01:13of all.
01:14So yeah, I could make a case for Hull KR, but on the day it's completely different.
01:20Old Trafford is a graveyard for first-time finalists.
01:23No first-time finalists have won at Old Trafford since the very early days when a first-time
01:28finalist had to win because there were two first-time finalists.
01:31And if you go back 20 years for the last time, a club won the Super League title for the
01:38first time.
01:39So yeah, the omens aren't good for Hull KR, I'll put it that way.
01:44But they have had success against Wigan this season, which they will take great comfort
01:50from going into this game, won't they?
01:52They will.
01:53They will, and they should as well, because when they played them in the league, when
01:55the league leader Shield was on the line, I thought they had them that night, they had
02:00them where they wanted them.
02:01I think they got 12 points up, 10 points up, or vice versa.
02:06It was a lesson in finishing Wigan off when you've got them down, definitely.
02:10But at the same time, they lost two players to the Simbin, and that's ultimately why they
02:14lost that game.
02:16And it could be the same again on Saturday, and they need to learn from that.
02:20I'd suggest just not going down to 12, mate, because it's not a very good idea against
02:23this Wigan team.
02:26Key players for both teams.
02:27Obviously, Mikey Lewis is an obvious one, I guess, for Hull KR, but they have other
02:30areas, other players that can dominate games and that can have a major influence on games,
02:35obviously, don't they?
02:36Definitely.
02:37It's current Man of Steel against former Man of Steel, Mikey Lewis against Bevan French,
02:43that's the obvious.
02:44If I was a neutral, I'd be keeping an eye on that battle.
02:48But there's quality players all over the park.
02:50Wigan showed against Hull KR last time.
02:53Jake Wardle and Liam Marshall are probably the deadliest combination on the edge in the
02:58competition.
02:59Then the forward battle.
03:01That's where I think Hull KR could have the beat in Wigan, they did it at Wigan towards
03:06the end of the regular season.
03:07Hull KR have got some real warriors in their pack, in Ellington Treloar, who's back the
03:12captain this week, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Jai Whitbread, the list goes on.
03:17They've got a lot of hard workers and they won't stop, they'll run the blood to water
03:21this weekend.
03:22So, yeah, on that front, I think they might have Wigan if they can win that forward battle
03:27and keep 13 men on the field, I think they'll have a chance.
03:32Quick word about Willie Peters.
03:33Obviously, he's had a massive impact since coming into the club.
03:39It seems clear that he's also here for the long haul.
03:42This isn't just a sort of a short stop in his coaching career, it would seem, is it?
03:46There's a lot of forward thinking going on at the club at the minute, isn't there?
03:51No, definitely.
03:52He gave him a new deal earlier this year, there was some talk for a little while about
03:57maybe he'd go back to the NRL, obviously, his impact over here has not gone unnoticed
04:01over there.
04:02But he's tied down now, he's signed a contract to the end of 2028, I'd expect him to see
04:07that out.
04:08He's got a real chance to create a legacy at Hull KR and he's standing on the verge
04:13of being the coach to end that long, long wait for silverware.
04:18It's gone on for 39 years and counting.
04:22That could end this weekend and to write his name into club folklore, he's well on the
04:27way to doing it.
04:28Rovers need to get over the line and win a trophy.
04:31Fingers crossed for them, it can be this weekend.