The Blues also accepted they weren't good enough in the first 45 minutes, not just in attack but defensively.
"He just gave us a rocket up our [backsides] to make us win, basically," Wilson said, drawing parallels with their other games this winter when results didn't mirror determination.
"Today it didn't happen for us again when they scored first but it was brilliant for us to come back to win."
Cruelly Petone drew first blood, 1-0, from centre-mid Grant Robson in the 16th minute following a goalmouth melee.
The Blues had appealed for a freekick in the box but referee Matthew Conger rightly played on as it was a case of ball to hand.
Ironically the equaliser, 1-1, came in the 30th minute from centre-mid Stu Wilson who volleyed a cracker from about 27m out after the ball got popped about without a name tag.
You could hear a pin drop a minute later when the visitors re-started the game, threading the ball through to striker James Hill who pushed it past goalkeeper Jonty Underhill for a tit-for-tat 2-1 lead.
It wasn't until the 54th minute that the Rovers levelled, 2-2, when the ref awarded a penalty for a handball as Petone captain Craig Alderdice remonstrated.
Matt Hastings stepped up to deftly place it on the left side of the net past a diving goalkeeper, Daniel Clarke.
The Rovers took the lead, 3-2, for the first time in the 71st minute when tireless Welsh import striker Miles John worked the ball up the left flank, using substitute Sam Messam on the outside as a decoy, to push into the 18m box.
From there, John threaded a pass to teenager Angus Kilkolly who took a touch, swivelled before driving it low.
The keeper succumbed to gravity but the ball snuck through under him.
In the 89th minute, the hosts went up 4-2 after John superbly toyed with the ball in the box before flicking it through to striker Andy Bevin for a no-frills finish.
The Rovers remain undefeated at Bluewater Stadium this season, notching up their fourth victory on the trot but today they will have to maintain it against Wellington Olympic in the Chatham Cup (national knockout) match.
The Greeks on Saturday not only lost 3-0 to undefeated Miramar Rangers in the league derby but also conceded their top perch on the table and an unblemished record.
Wilson said the 4-2 away loss to Olympic on May 3 had a similar plot to Saturday's match.
"We're again going to come out firing straight away and put it to bed early to stay on top of them," he said, lauding their team effort.
Petone coach Graham Little said the ref "made a bad decision" in awarding Rovers a penalty, changing the complexion of the game.
"It's not so much the penalty. It was the corner kick.
"You've got a linesman who's right there and leaves it to the ref who is 25 yards away," Little said of ref's assistant, Gordon Harris.
The former Kiwi international said that decision kicked the stuffing out of their game plan.
Despite that, Little was happy with his side and saluted the Rovers, especially when the hosts pushed six players up on attack.
"It's kind of hard to defend that," Little said.
In other games, Wairarapa United pipped Tawa 2-1, Palmerston North Marist beat Lower Hutt City 3-0 while Western Suburbs emulated Marist's score against Upper Hutt City.
Marist, who lost 2-1 to the Rovers a fortnight ago in the league, play Cole Murray Group Havelock North Wanderers in a Chatham Cup match today from 2pm at Guthrie Park in the Bay village.
