Hull KR Coach Willie Peters Set to Leave Club After Title Success

Six weeks after Hull KR beat Brisbane Broncos 30-24 at the MKM Stadium to claim the World Club Challenge, the coach who engineered that victory is heading back to Australia for good.

Willie Peters, 47, is set to leave Hull KR at the end of the 2026 season to become the first head coach of the NRL's Papua New Guinea franchise, the PNG Chiefs, who enter the competition in 2028. Peters would join the Chiefs in 2027 to begin recruiting a squad and building the club's infrastructure ahead of their inaugural season, following the same model Mal Meninga used at the Perth Bears this year ahead of their 2027 entry. The expansion takes the NRL to 19 teams.

Peters declined to address the reports when asked on Sky Sports by presenter Jenna Brooks, but his agent has already spoken about the possible appointment and multiple outlets report he has agreed to the role. The PNG Chiefs identified Peters as the man they want leading the franchise from the start.

The timing is no accident. Before arriving at Hull KR, Peters served as an assistant at Manly Sea Eagles, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights, and last year added Kangaroos assistant to his CV, working under head coach Kevin Walters during the Ashes series. Each posting built credentials that Australian audiences noticed. Peters has been direct about his intentions: "I believe I'm ready to go. The only way you can show that is by getting an opportunity in the NRL and proving yourself."

The PNG role represents something beyond a standard head coaching job. "It's a unique opportunity because it's a team where you can create the culture and DNA of a club for many years," Peters said. "But setting up the culture of PNG would excite me." For a coach who already rebuilt one underperforming club from eighth place to world champions, the offer of authorship over an entirely new franchise carries obvious appeal.

Peters took charge at Hull KR at the end of 2022 with the club having finished eighth. He delivered a fourth-place finish in his first season and a Challenge Cup final appearance, though they lost in extra time to Leigh Leopards. In 2024, Hull KR reached a first Grand Final, losing to Wigan Warriors. Then came 2025: an 8-6 Challenge Cup win over Warrington Wolves at Wembley, the League Leaders' Shield with 22 wins from 27, and a 24-6 Grand Final revenge over Wigan at Old Trafford that ended a 40-year wait for major silverware. The World Club Challenge victory over Brisbane followed in February. He won everything available to him.

That record is precisely what makes his departure a structural problem as much as an emotional one. Sky Sports pundit Jon Wilkin acknowledged the recruitment challenge directly: "It does become a bit of a challenge when you're talking about recruitment, though I imagine Hull KR have got 2027 boxed off in that regard." On whether the current season would suffer, Wilkin was unequivocal: "I don't think it would. I think the players have got too much professional integrity." Sam Tomkins, drawing on a parallel at Wigan, agreed: "I don't think it derails this side at all. I was a player in a similar situation to these Hull KR players."

CEO Paul Lakin, who works closely with Peters on a daily basis, will lead the search for a successor. The coaching market has a clear logic: when a builder finishes the job, the next frontier calls.