Rhyse Martin reveals all on his first season with Hull KR, from his worst nightmare to Grand Final glory.
Hull KR’s Rhyse Martin with the Super League trophy at Old Trafford. SWPix.
When Rhyse Martin made the move to Hull KR from Leeds Rhinos during the off-season, he imagined kickstarting his new chapter with tries, goals, and a fresh impact in East Hull. Instead, just four games into his Robins career, his world came crashing down.
“It was probably my worst nightmare,” the back-rower admitted. “Going over to Hull and getting injured straightaway. It’s been some journey.”
A serious quadricep injury required surgery and sidelined the Papua New Guinea international for four long months. For a player renowned for his reliability and mainstay prowess, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
“I wanted to play and show what I was about,” said Martin. “The team were all playing so well and found a bit of rhythm and kept winning. I was just working behind the scenes, doing my rehab and trying to get back out on the field as soon as possible with no setbacks.”
While Martin was stuck on the sidelines, Hull KR were on a tear. They clinched a dramatic victory in the Challenge Cup Final, ending a 40-year wait for silverware with a Wembley win over Warrington Wolves.
The Robins also lost just once in Super League during his four-month absence, a positive half of the campaign which made the difference in the battle for the League Leaders’ Shield.
“Missing the Challenge Cup Final was tough,” he said. “But the guys around me were the ones supporting me and pushing me through to this big occasion [Grand Final].”
That faith proved well-placed.
Martin returned in time to help Hull KR complete a historic treble – Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield, and ultimately, the Super League Grand Final. It was a fairytale finish to a season that began with disaster.
“The medical staff, the programme they had for me and the support they had for me – we didn’t have any setbacks and I was able to get back on the field when I was expected to,” Martin continued. “They kept me going, and kept saying I’d be playing in a Grand Final at the end of the season.”
It was a nervy start for the Robins at the Theatre of Dreams, but Wigan Warriors squandered two golden opportunities for Liam Farrell and Bevan French – with Mikey Lewis forcing the mistake from last year’s inaugural Rob Burrow Award winner.
Wigan were then reduced to 12-men when Brad O’Neill was sin-binned for a tip-tackle and when 2024 Man of Steel Lewis opened the scoring, the Robins hardly looked back.
“The first one that got disallowed, it was very early on and we weren’t sure how we were going to respond to that,” Martin said.
“When the ball goes your way a bit – those two disallowed tries – you find a bit of energy from that. What we were doing, we were doing right.
“After that 20 minute mark, we found our feet and got into the grind. I’m grateful that we didn’t have 12 points against us, but we knew once we were in the game, that we were going to go toe-to-toe with them and to see if they could stick with us.”
The 32-year-old has now also joined an elite group of Papua New Guinea representatives to win the Super League competition, and Martin hopes that his ultimate glory will help inspire the next generation.
“It means a lot to me,” added Martin, who made his international debut for the Kumuls back in 2014.
“Hopefully, it gives some inspiration to some of the guys that are coming over here and some young kids back in Papua New Guinea that want to achieve something similar. That’s all I hope for.”
For Martin, triumph is also a reward for years of sacrifice.
He concluded: “For me, the sacrifices of six years of living away from my family – me, my wife and my two kids here – to play in this occasion makes it all worth it.”
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