Exclusive: Michael McIlorum is nearing the end of his storied career but he’s not getting emotional about it.
17:28, 11 Aug 2025Updated 12:10, 12 Aug 2025
Hull KR’s Michael McIlorum
In hindsight, it’s a daft question asking Michael McIlorum if he’s getting emotional as the clock ticks down on his storied playing career. The veteran ex-England international smiled and said: “No, not really. I’m not a very emotional type.”
Having earned a reputation as being pound-for-pound one of the toughest players of his generation, it’s a typically blunt response. But it doesn’t mean the Hull KR hooker doesn’t want to go out on a high. McIlorum’s innate competitiveness will ensure he gives himself and his league leaders every chance of that.
Since joining from Catalans in the off-season, the 37 year-old has helped bring leadership, experience and his trademark steely edge to a club who – having not won anything for four decades – now target three trophies in just five months. With just six rounds remaining, if Rovers win Friday’s titanic top-of-the-table tussle at Wigan on Friday, the League Leaders’ Shield’s as good as in the cabinet alongside the Challenge Cup lifted in June.
And it is fitting that McIlorum – still unsure what he’ll be doing in 2026 – starts his last push at Wigan, the club where he started his career, playing almost 250 games and winning three Super League titles before his life-changing move to France in 2018. He admitted: “I’m just looking forward to playing there for one last time. And playing here [at Hull KR].
“I’m just enjoying the experience and the last chance I’ll have to play, not just at Wigan but other stadiums and against these teams. I want to make the most of it. I want to play the best I can and finish on a good foot.
“But I am looking forward to Friday. Obviously, it’s first vs second, I used to play at Wigan for a long time, it’s a great stadium, it’ll be full and it’ll be a great occasion. But at the end of the day, it is worth two points. It’s still a long, long time to the play-offs.
“Obviously we want to win and build a bit of momentum going to those play-offs, but it’s still five, six weeks away. If they win, it [KR lead at top] is two points difference. If we win it becomes six, so it’s a big gap for us. Both want a home semi-final. It’s all set.”
Wigan, of course, beat Willie Peters’ side in last year’s Grand Final to complete an historic quadruple and also defeated them at Craven Park in April. But McIlorum maintained they aren’t scarred by those results. He said: “Obviously we’re confident we can beat Wigan.
“It is going to be a tough, tough challenge. But I feel like the best teams always sort of build up the momentum going into the play-offs. That’s what we try to replicate here. Wigan had a decent win [against Warrington on Friday].
“They’re getting a few players back with Jai [Field] and Bevan [French], so they’re a completely different team with those two, so it’s going to be a different challenge. Bevan’s probably going to be back. It’s going to be a difficult game but we’re excited by it.”
McIlorum’s wife and young child headed back to France earlier in the year. And, despite still being in great form, he maintains he’s not contemplated doing a U-turn on his decision to quit Super League.
The combative Yorkshireman said: “No. Willie [Peters] spoke to me quite early on about doing another year and I said ‘I can’t. I need to get back to France.’ It’s been quite difficult, missing my little girl Roux growing up.
“She’s at that age where she’s changing pretty quickly so it’s not the same on FaceTime. It’s important to me to be close to her. But I made this sacrifice and she was aware of that when I came here. And if we get to the Grand Final and win it, it’s going to be worth it. We’ve won the Challenge Cup, so it’s already been worth it. But we want to go and push on more.”
Having won two Grand Finals with Wigan in 2010 and 2013 – he missed the 2016 success due to injury – what is the most important ingredient to complete the job when heading into the business end of the season?
McIlorum, who famously came back early from a torn biceps to help Rovers beat Warrington at Wembley, said: “That’s a difficult question. I’d say just turning up when it matters.
“ou can play as well as you want all season, in the play-offs, win the semi. But if we do get to the final and we don’t turn up, we won’t win it.
“That’s what happened last year and it happened a little bit in the Challenge Cup final. We should have, with all respects to Warrington, we should have won, quite easily, not relying on a kick in the 78th minute. It’s just about turning up in those big games and those big moments – and just being all in.”