Aussie coach Peters seeks redemption for Hull KR

The pain of recent history will weigh heavily on the mind of Australian coach Willie Peters as he plots a path to Challenge Cup final glory for his Hull Kingston Rovers side.
Peters has the lingering memories of Rovers' heartbreaking 2023 final loss to Leigh to erase, not to mention a 40-year trophyless streak to explode as his side look to live up to their deserved billing as heavy favourites for Saturday's showdown with Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.
The 46-year-old Sydney-born Peters has told his players, who top the Super League, to embrace the weight of expectation that comes with being the domestic game's pre-eminent force.
The club have scarcely looked back since Lachlan Lam's drop-goal denied them their long-awaited triumph in 2023. They were runners-up to Wigan in last October's grand final, four days after Peters had been named Super League coach of the year.
East Hull has been awash with reminders that it is four decades since the Robins last lifted major honours, and Peters, who has immersed himself in the club and its community since he arrived as a relatively little-known head coach in 2023, is under no illusions about what a win would mean.
"I don't think about what it would mean for me, but I think it about the effect it will have on our club," said Peters, who played halfback for the likes of South Sydney and St George Illawarra before taking up assistant coaching roles with Manly, South Sydney and Newcastle.
"The people involved can be legends of this club for a long time, so that excites me. What would excite me would be being in a WhatsApp group for the next 30 or 40 years with the guys who won a Challenge Cup, and being able to come back and meet up.
"We are a community club. I have always said our sole aim is to make our community proud, and we have got the chance to do that this weekend."
Peters admitted glancing back at certain aspects of the 2023 final but has resisted plunging into the negative emotions that followed that loss, pointing out his side's ability to shrug it off almost immediately and finish their domestic campaign on a high.
"I've watched some segments of the (2023) final because I know what I want to use this week, not so much about the emotions but around different actions in the game," added Peters.
"If you talk about where you want to go, I believe that's a stronger emotion, so that's what I will be tapping into."
Peters' opposite number, Sam Burgess, will also be on a mission at the London final, where Warrington will be attempting to erase memories of last year's miserable 18-8 final defeat by Wigan.
But his side have been ravaged by injuries this season and languish in eighth place in the Super League.
The pain of recent history will weigh heavily on the mind of Australian coach Willie Peters as he plots a path to Challenge Cup final glory for his Hull Kingston Rovers side.
Peters has the lingering memories of Rovers' heartbreaking 2023 final loss to Leigh to erase, not to mention a 40-year trophyless streak to explode as his side look to live up to their deserved billing as heavy favourites for Saturday's showdown with Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.
The 46-year-old Sydney-born Peters has told his players, who top the Super League, to embrace the weight of expectation that comes with being the domestic game's pre-eminent force.
The club have scarcely looked back since Lachlan Lam's drop-goal denied them their long-awaited triumph in 2023. They were runners-up to Wigan in last October's grand final, four days after Peters had been named Super League coach of the year.
East Hull has been awash with reminders that it is four decades since the Robins last lifted major honours, and Peters, who has immersed himself in the club and its community since he arrived as a relatively little-known head coach in 2023, is under no illusions about what a win would mean.
"I don't think about what it would mean for me, but I think it about the effect it will have on our club," said Peters, who played halfback for the likes of South Sydney and St George Illawarra before taking up assistant coaching roles with Manly, South Sydney and Newcastle.
"The people involved can be legends of this club for a long time, so that excites me. What would excite me would be being in a WhatsApp group for the next 30 or 40 years with the guys who won a Challenge Cup, and being able to come back and meet up.
"We are a community club. I have always said our sole aim is to make our community proud, and we have got the chance to do that this weekend."
Peters admitted glancing back at certain aspects of the 2023 final but has resisted plunging into the negative emotions that followed that loss, pointing out his side's ability to shrug it off almost immediately and finish their domestic campaign on a high.
"I've watched some segments of the (2023) final because I know what I want to use this week, not so much about the emotions but around different actions in the game," added Peters.
"If you talk about where you want to go, I believe that's a stronger emotion, so that's what I will be tapping into."
Peters' opposite number, Sam Burgess, will also be on a mission at the London final, where Warrington will be attempting to erase memories of last year's miserable 18-8 final defeat by Wigan.
But his side have been ravaged by injuries this season and languish in eighth place in the Super League.
The pain of recent history will weigh heavily on the mind of Australian coach Willie Peters as he plots a path to Challenge Cup final glory for his Hull Kingston Rovers side.
Peters has the lingering memories of Rovers' heartbreaking 2023 final loss to Leigh to erase, not to mention a 40-year trophyless streak to explode as his side look to live up to their deserved billing as heavy favourites for Saturday's showdown with Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium.
The 46-year-old Sydney-born Peters has told his players, who top the Super League, to embrace the weight of expectation that comes with being the domestic game's pre-eminent force.
The club have scarcely looked back since Lachlan Lam's drop-goal denied them their long-awaited triumph in 2023. They were runners-up to Wigan in last October's grand final, four days after Peters had been named Super League coach of the year.
East Hull has been awash with reminders that it is four decades since the Robins last lifted major honours, and Peters, who has immersed himself in the club and its community since he arrived as a relatively little-known head coach in 2023, is under no illusions about what a win would mean.
"I don't think about what it would mean for me, but I think it about the effect it will have on our club," said Peters, who played halfback for the likes of South Sydney and St George Illawarra before taking up assistant coaching roles with Manly, South Sydney and Newcastle.
"The people involved can be legends of this club for a long time, so that excites me. What would excite me would be being in a WhatsApp group for the next 30 or 40 years with the guys who won a Challenge Cup, and being able to come back and meet up.
"We are a community club. I have always said our sole aim is to make our community proud, and we have got the chance to do that this weekend."
Peters admitted glancing back at certain aspects of the 2023 final but has resisted plunging into the negative emotions that followed that loss, pointing out his side's ability to shrug it off almost immediately and finish their domestic campaign on a high.
"I've watched some segments of the (2023) final because I know what I want to use this week, not so much about the emotions but around different actions in the game," added Peters.
"If you talk about where you want to go, I believe that's a stronger emotion, so that's what I will be tapping into."
Peters' opposite number, Sam Burgess, will also be on a mission at the London final, where Warrington will be attempting to erase memories of last year's miserable 18-8 final defeat by Wigan.
But his side have been ravaged by injuries this season and languish in eighth place in the Super League.

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The one thing I really want is the one thing I can't give myself

The Age

2 hours ago

The Age

The one thing I really want is the one thing I can't give myself

Two weeks ago, I caught up with a friend of mine who is an adult man with a very serious job as a corporate lawyer for a global bank, where he deals with millions of dollars each day, and when I saw him, the first thing I said was: 'Banus! How are you?' His actual name is Chris but unfortunately, on the first day of high school, he sat in a chair on the back of which someone had scrawled the nonsensical word 'banus', and the damage was done. Twenty-four years later, the nickname remains despite his constant requests for everyone to let it go and call him by his legal name. 'Sure thing, Banus.' Therein lies the beauty of the nickname, the best ones being thrust upon the owner through no fault of their own. One day your name is Chris, and the next you've been rebranded simply because you sat in a chair. No one does this better than sports teams. A group environment fuelled by ruthless ribbing proves the ideal nickname generator. Some are based purely on physical attributes, like how former NRL player Anthony Minichiello earned the nickname 'The Count' because he looks exactly like Count von Count from Sesame Street, or basketball fans call Kevin Durant 'The Slim Reaper' due to his slender frame. For a long time, Durant shunned the nickname and asked to be called KD. Sadly for Durant, due to the unofficial rules of nicknames, initials don't count, nor does being referred to by your surname. However, surnames can have a role to play in the origins of your nickname. For instance, Australian cricketer Brett Lee is known as Binga, a reference to Bing Lee, the chain of electronics stores. And before Binga, he was nicknamed Oswald because, for a short time, Brett batted behind his brother Shane Lee and Ian Harvey in the Australian one-day team. During this period, whenever captain Steve Waugh read out the players' surnames for the batting line-up before a game, it would go: Lee, Harvey … [insert new nickname]. I mention all this only because I have long been fascinated by nicknames, a direct result of never having had one. During my formative years at school, when Chris became Banus, it seemed nicknames were being dished out every day. A kid named Ryan was renamed Windy because he was so small he'd blow away in a gale, and Shane became Shooter after a rumour spread that his dad's job was to shoot seagulls at the airport.