Rovers’ intention for the WCC has been laid out
Hull KR’s James Batchelor.
The 2024 Grand Final won’t be celebrated or remembered in the annals of Hull KR history beyond one simple fact, Rovers lost on their first appearance in the showpiece. That may be the case, but don’t underestimate the significance of that match against Wigan Warriors.
Coming as it did after an agonising 2023 Challenge Cup final loss to Leigh Leopards, the two major final defeats signalled a sea-change in Hull KR’s approach.
No longer happy to play the “it’s good to be here” card, the Robins went from a club happy to be contenders to one which would have greeted defeat as a failure.
It was a shift in expectation and a shift in mindset that brought the type of belief and focus that helps drive a team to three trophies in one year.
It is that similar drive which will see Rovers line-up against the Brisbane Broncos this evening, with nothing but victory in their mind.
On what is a celebratory night for British rugby league and one of the biggest games, if not the biggest, in Hull KR’s history, the players care about just one thing – winning.
“Ultimately, we don’t want to sit back on it in three weeks, or three years, or 30 years, whatever that time may be, and go, ‘I played against them, it was great’,” explains Rovers forward James Batchelor.
“We want to look back and say ‘we beat them’. At the end of the day, it’s a cup final, there is a trophy on the line and there’s one game to go to win it. That’s our only intention.
“We don’t want to just be happy to be playing against this Brisbane team or in this game. Yeah, it’s a great occasion and all that, but we want to go and win the game. That’s what we care about.”
In what is a sold out MKM Stadium, Bachelor will have plenty of family support this evening as he sets out on adding another honour to the three picked up last year. Inundated with ticket requests for the World Club Challenge test against NRL champions the Broncos, the 27-year-old will even have his brother Joe, now at Hull FC, cheering on a Hull KR win at the MKM Stadium.
“My full family are coming from all over the country. They spend a lot of money travelling to all corners of the country for me and my brother, so I’m pretty fortunate in that aspect,” adds Batchelor, who adds a little comical swipe at his elder brother when asked if Joe managed to source his own tickets.
“No, he’s got no pull over here. He doesn’t have much pull at the Hull City ground!”
Joe will get his chance to respond when the brothers meet in the forthcoming Hull derby, but for now Rovers have more important pressing matters like trying to figure out how to beat the star-studded Brisbane line-up.
Beaten at York Knights in their first Super League game last week, the Robins need to be much-improved against the Broncos. Having had honest talks about what went wrong last week, there’s a confidence this week will be much better and supporters will see the type of display Rovers have become known for of late.
“We spoke in the York dressing room about our initial thoughts and what we thought went wrong,” says Batchelor.
“We went in Sunday morning and had the full review: we don’t brush anything under the carpet. We’re pretty good at having those open conversations and using them to learn and grow and improve.
“We’ve looked back at it. We know we can learn from it, we know we can improve and it’s about going and doing that this week now. There’s a trophy to play for and we’re ready to go win it.”