{"id":410706,"date":"2026-02-06T06:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/410706\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T06:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T06:46:14","slug":"declan-murphy-lifts-lid-on-unique-super-league-journey-with-hull-kr-end-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/410706\/","title":{"rendered":"Declan Murphy lifts lid on unique Super League journey with Hull KR end destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a unique journey for the new Hull KR recruit.\"New<\/p>\n

New Hull KR signing Declan Murphy.<\/p>\n

For Declan Murphy, rugby league has been a whirlwind journey of trials, turbulence and a first Super League contract – all within the space of 12 months. The outside-back was released from Saracens at the end of the 2024\/25 rugby union season before earning a trial with Wigan Warriors\u2019 reserves as he explored a switch of codes.<\/p>\n

Amid their struggles, Salford Red Devils handed the youngster his first taste of Super League just months into his transition to rugby league<\/a>. A handful of appearances for the Red Devils proved enough to turn heads. Hull KR<\/a> quickly moved to secure Murphy as a long-term project, agreeing a three-year deal ahead of the 2026 season, with the former Saracens academy product still only 20 years of age.<\/p>\n

Murphy admits his experience at Salford differed from many of his team-mates, having arrived late in the 2026 campaign with a clear aim of putting himself in the shop window.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt was a pretty difficult time, being released from Saracens, but then I went to Salford. I came in quite late, so I didn\u2019t feel the full effect like some of the boys did. I came to play and put a name out there for myself, but for the boys, I can imagine it was proper tough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came to points where they\u2019d turn up and hope for the best. I would have hated to be in their boat. For me, I was fighting for a contract, so I just had to do my thing and put my name out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those appearances were enough to demonstrate his Super League potential, with Hull KR moving swiftly to snap him up under Willie Peters – a decision finalised just a week before Murphy faced the eventual treble-winning champions last September.<\/p>\n

Now days away from completing his first full pre-season in rugby league, Murphy has wasted little time setting his sights high at Sewell Group Craven Park. He made his first unofficial appearance for the Robins in last month\u2019s pre-season clash against Wakefield Trinity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been good,\u201d Murphy said of his time at Hull KR so far. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a different environment coming from rugby union. It\u2019s been proper tough, but really good.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys have been really welcoming, and the coaches have been great. They\u2019ve made it easy for me, breaking everything down bit by bit. It\u2019s been easy to learn, get on board and I\u2019ve been enjoying it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it was going to be hard coming in. I did a lot of training in the off-season to keep my standards high. I knew the standards would be high here, so I\u2019ve just tried to humble myself and make sure I\u2019m ready. I want to play first-team, push myself and train hard. I want Willie to know that I\u2019m hungry and that I\u2019m here to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young back is also realistic about the challenge ahead, with Arthur Mourgue set to wear the number one shirt in 2026. But being immersed in Hull KR\u2019s environment – particularly during a season that includes the World Club Challenge and the club\u2019s historic trip to Las Vegas – can only aid his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I\u2019m not playing, it\u2019ll be good to be around it and experience it all,\u201d Murphy added. \u201cThe good thing is I\u2019m here for three years, so I\u2019ve got time to develop under Willie. I\u2019m hungry and I want to be making that matchday squad every week.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s been a unique journey for the new Hull KR recruit. New Hull KR signing Declan Murphy. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20372,5903,20370,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-410706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-hull-kr","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-league","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}