Hull KR celebrated winning the treble with a big party in the city centre
Having waited 40 years for a trophy parade, Hull KR incredibly held their second in four months as the town centre was painted red and white to celebrate the treble.
Even the traditional Hull Fair weather stayed away for this team who can do no wrong right now having added the Super League Grand Final trophy to their Challenge Cup success and League Leaders’ Shield crown.
No matter your age, no Rovers fan has ever seen anything like this and that euphoria, pride and passion fed into an afternoon to savour yet again for the Robins. Glistening in the late afternoon sun where all three trophies, taking pride of place, evidence of the dominance of this team this season. An achievement never seen before in these parts.
Having made their way to the City Hall balcony from Sewell Group Craven Park thanks to an open top bus parade which weaved its way through streets of well-wishers, the Rovers players arrived to a sea of supporters knowing what to expect from their visit earlier this year, and yet the impact was no less on each as they stepped out.
Some, like home-grown try scorer Jez Litten, looked like they were still wearing parts of their kit having not been home let alone to bed since their triumph at Old Trafford. There were probably many in the crowd who could tell a similar story as the party continued.
“This is what we do it for, this is what it is all about, seeing what it means to the supporters,” exclaimed Kiwi great and soon to be departing Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Immense at Old Trafford, he was still pumped up as he greeted the crowd with a few expletives, not that anyone was brave enough to pull him up on it.
Club owner Neil Hudgell, again getting one of the loudest cheers of the day, talked of this being the greatest KR team ever assembled – “the stats back that up,” said Hudgell. Meanwhile, for many of the players it was not about grand statement or promises of what’s next, just a celebration of the moment and of the feeling shared across the city centre.
The message of giving the supporters what they deserved was a familiar theme, with captain Elliot Minchella and man of the match Mikey Lewis talking about the impact on East Hull and the club’s deserving fans.
What it meant to everyone was clear from those who had bleary eyes from celebrating, to those with bleary eyes from the emotion of it all. It was summed up perfectly by fan, Ruby Woods; “I’m in disbelief but really happy,” she told the Mail.
“My granddad sadly passed away and we wish our granddad could have been here to see this. He’d be crying.”
He wouldn’t have been alone.