Hull KR head coach Willie Peters said he never doubted Mikey Lewis would land the kick that ended 40 years of hurt after watching his side clinch a thrilling 8-6 Betfred Challenge Cup win over Warrington.
Largely out-muscled by a Wire side orchestrated by the imperious Marc Sneyd, Rovers looked set for more Wembley agony as the underdogs entered the final three minutes with a four-point advantage.
But after Tom Davies stretched to touch down following an error from Aaron Lindop, it was left to Lewis – handed kicking duties in the absence of the Cup-tied Arthur Mourgue, to nail the two-pointer that sparked raucous celebrations among the red and white hordes behind the post.
“That was probably the moment when I was the most calm,” insisted Peters, who celebrated wildly with his players – many of whom had been part of their agonising 2023 golden point defeat to Leigh – at the final hooter less than one and a half minutes after his side had nudged back ahead.
“It was a massive moment and I believed he was going to get it because of the belief he has in himself. He’s not our number one kicker but I felt really comfortable and confident when he had the ball in his hands because that was his moment.”
Peters did not hide from the fact that Rovers had been second best for much of an attritional contest in which Lewis’ early penalty looked set to give them a slender half-time lead before Josh Thewlis took advantage of an outrageous ricochet to give his side the lead.
Sneyd, who added a superb two points from the touchline and would end the day by becoming only the second player to win the Lance Todd Trophy for man of the match in the second half, continued to dominate after the break until Tyrone May’s clever kick led to the late, late drama.
“It wasn’t the best performance but it was gritty and that’s all you need in a Cup final,” added Peters. “You need to have grit and you need to enjoy discomfort, and they certainly did that.
“They were uncomfortable for long periods, Warrington just kept throwing so much at us and Marc Sneyd was exceptional, but we found a way and I’m so proud of this playing ground and staff.
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“The way they won that match today shows the character and the type of players that they are. It’s in our DNA, it’s who we are. East Hull people are gritty, tough and resilient. We don’t do anything easily, it was tough out there but we found a way.”
Deflated Warrington head coach Sam Burgess said he could not have asked any more from his side, who controlled the majority of the match and were on the verge of securing their first Wembley triumph since 2019.
Burgess, whose side were also beaten by Wigan in last year’s final, said: “You don’t always get what you deserve and I don’t think we deserved to lose today.
“We controlled the game very well and executed the plan. Unfortunately these things can happen, we were just on the wrong side of things today.”
Burgess refused to pin any blame on Lindop, whose failure to properly ground May’s late kick let in Davies for the decisive score.
Burgess admitted some confusion over the awarding of the try, since replays showed the Warrington winger had appeared to ground the ball with his stomach, but the RFL later clarified that grounding with anything but the hand is only allowed on an offensive play.
“I think he’s an amazing young man,” Burgess said of Lindop. “He’s an amazing player and he’s got such a bright future, so that’s what I think about Aaron. I absolutely love him.”
Burgess’s side have struggled for much of his second season and went into the game as heavy underdogs, languishing outside the Super League play-off places in eighth place and missing talismanic duo Danny Walker and Matty Ashton through injury.
But Burgess said once the raw disappointment had eased, his players would take much from the occasion that would hopefully spark a play-off push.
“We’ll move on – suffering and pain and loss and everything like that are really crucial to our development and growth as a group and we’re certainly suffering at the minute,” he added.
“There’s a lot of pain in there but we’ll take a really positive thing out of it as a group. We have great belief and it’ll give us the resolve and determination to attack the second half of the season.”
