As a club, Hull KR approach the 2026 season with very little to prove. The Robins were the best side in the land by some distance this year and they have three trophies to prove it.
The Challenge Cup win in early June brought an end to 40 years without a major trophy and that opened the door for Willie Peters’ side to kick on and take the League Leaders’ Shield and the Grand Final at the end of the year.
Of course, the Robins‘ mindset will be to kick on into the new season and build on their treble win by beating Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Challenge in February, which would open up the possibility of a 2026 quadruple.
However, while Rovers as a club have nothing to prove, some of the members of Peters’ first-team squad will feel as though they have something to prove as they prepare for the new season.
Here’s a look at three.
Hull KR players with something to prove
Jack Broadbent
Most reading this will know what Broadbent is capable of producing on his day. He’s a top end Super League quality player in a number of positions but as it stands he won’t feature in most people’s Rovers’ XIII.
That versatility means he’s highly important to the KR cause over the season, but when everyone is fit, it probably works against him and we saw that in the Grand Final, with Broadbent having to make do with being named 18th man.
He still got a ring, of course, but being overlooked at Old Trafford will have stung and he’ll be determined to show Peters that he is worthy of a starting spot, be that in the outside backs or at full-back.
Jack Brown
Brown was another player overlooked for a spot in Grand Final winning side with the prop failing to climb the pecking order over the course of the campaign. The former Hull FC man made 15 appearances over the course of the season and he came off the bench in the Challenge Cup final win over Warrington Wolves.
However, the 25-year-old will have hoped to have been involved a lot more than he was and the off-season addition of Jordan Dezaria means he could well be in danger of slipping further down the pecking order.
Brown will be determined to have a strong pre-season then and give Peters some food for thought going into the clash with York Knights in round one. There’s also a new contract to play for, with Brown entering the final year of his current deal at Craven Park.
Bill Leyland
Leyland probably didn’t get as much game time as he would have hoped this year after making the move from London Broncos. The hooker knew he would be third in the pecking order behind McIlorum and Jez Litten and therefore chances would be few and far between.
He did make 12 outings but those run outs were so often fleeting, with Peters looking to come off the bench to see out wins rather than to change games. Leyland has seen Karl Lawton replace McIlorum in the number nine order, but it’s the youngster’s job to make himself as hard as possible to overlook through 2026.
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