{"id":607962,"date":"2026-05-28T06:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607962\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T06:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T06:03:12","slug":"hull-kr-pack-options-amid-dean-hadley-hamstring-and-jai-whitbread-absence-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/607962\/","title":{"rendered":"Hull KR pack options amid Dean Hadley hamstring and Jai Whitbread absence concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Hull KR are still sweating on the fitness of forward Dean Hadley ahead of Saturday\u2019s Challenge Cup Final<\/a>, whilst Willie Peters has also confirmed that Jai Whitbread may be left behind in Hull for another reason, meaning the Robins\u2019 pack could be set for a big switch-up.<\/p>\n

Matt Peet refused to risk any injuries or suspensions with his squad selection as he handed out ten debuts<\/a> when Wigan took on Hull KR, who went near enough full strength in their own line-up.<\/p>\n

Whilst that ensured a comfortable win and a healthy boost to the club\u2019s Super League points difference, it wasn\u2019t without its issues as Hull KR picked up injury concerns for both Dean Hadley and Karl Lawton.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s expected that Lawton (ribs) will be fine to play, however, scans have confirmed that there is in fact an issue with Dean Hadley\u2019s hamstring<\/a> but the club are willing to make a \u2018late call\u2019 on the forward\u2019s inclusion.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Willie Peters told\u00a0The Yorkshire Post<\/a>\u00a0with Hadley to be afforded up until Friday\u2019s captain\u2019s run, however, there\u2019s a chance that Australian forward Jai Whitbread may not even make the captain\u2019s run with his partner still expecting a baby.<\/p>\n

Peters told the Yorkshire Post: \u201cThere\u2019s a possibility he won\u2019t play. If the baby isn\u2019t here, he won\u2019t be going down with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

With there being a chance that both men may miss out, we\u2019ve looked at the alternative options for Hull KR.<\/p>\n

Wigan Warriors selection drama, Bradford\u2019s controversial \u2018no try\u2019 call and Las Vegas Teams revealed \u2013\u00a0Click here to listen to the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n

What could the Hull KR forward pack look like in the Challenge Cup Final?<\/p>\n

Hadley has been the club\u2019s starting second-rower but in Rhyse Martin there is a ready-made replacement, with the Papua New Guinean also the club\u2019s primary goal-kicker.<\/p>\n

As for Whitbread, he\u2019d typically bring the impact from the bench with the ex-Wakefield man comfortable at both prop and in the second-row so that versatility will be a big loss.<\/p>\n

One man who also brings plenty of versatility is Karl Lawton, who has been starting at hooker in recent weeks, where he\u2019s played 20-minute stints. Should either Hadley or Whitbread miss out then Lawton can be unleashed in the second-row, or even at prop if needed.<\/p>\n

That would see longer minutes for captain Elliot Minchella at loose forward though he\u2019s no stranger to playing the full 80 of required, whilst prop options such as Sam Luckley, Jack Brown and Jordan Dezaria will all be considered.<\/p>\n

One man who will not play is Tevita Pangai Jr, who Hull KR announced as a new signing on May 17th, with the former State of Origin man ineligible to play as he joined the club after the Challenge Cup semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Whilst Hull KR certainly have options if they\u2019re unable to play Hadley or Whitbread, losing them would certainly be a massive blow to Willie Peters and a big boost to counterpart Matt Peet.<\/p>\n

Each team will name their 21-man squad at midday tomorrow (Thursday) with all eyes on the Hull KR forwards, though given Peters\u2019 admission that Hadley will be given till captain\u2019s run, we may not learn much.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hull KR are still sweating on the fitness of forward Dean Hadley ahead of Saturday\u2019s Challenge Cup Final,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-607962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607962","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=607962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}