Rhyse Martin has announced his decision to retire at the end of the season
Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com – 29/05/2026 – Rugby League – Betfred Challenge Cup Final 2026 – Hull KR Captain’s Run – Wembley Stadium, London, England – Sam Luckley of Hull KR and Elliot Minchella of Hull KR
Hull KR want to send Rhyse Martin out as a winner after announcing his plans to retire at the end of the season.
Martin will hanging up his boots and joining up with Papua New Guinea Chiefs in 2027 alongside Willie Peters.
The back-rower will be working as a football operations manager, with that decision being communicated on Thursday morning, two days before the Challenge Cup final.
Rovers were not exactly short of motivation before, especially with Peters leaving at the end of the season, but their desire to send Martin out on a high has only added to their desire to get the job done and go back to back at Wembley Stadium.
“Massively, Rhyse has been a great servant for our club in a short period of time,” KR skipper Elliot Minchella said while pitchside at Wembley. “He’s added loads to us.
“He’s not done just yet but this is a massive occasion for him and his family and we want to send him off as a winner. He’s not retiring tomorrow, but we recognise this is a big moment in his career and we don’t want to disappoint him.”
Rovers will be without Jai Whitbread in the capital, with the forward’s partner due to give birth any day. But the biggest bit of team news ahead of the cup final came from the Wigan camp with Bevan French being included in the side.
The stand-off wasn’t due back for another four weeks and his inclusion could be seen as pre-match mind games from head coach Matt Peet, but Minchella isn’t buying into it.
“Yes, definitely,” the skipper said when asked whether he felt French would play.
“He’s a quality player but if you want to be the best you have to beat the best and he’s definitely up there for me as one of the best in the comp and we have a lot of respect for him and we expect to face him tomorrow.
“We’ve prepared just as we would normally. We respect our opposition every single week, we go into detail in terms of traits and things like that. We expect him to see him here tomorrow, I don’t think it would be a surprise.
“I’m not too sure [about mind games], if you’re in the 21 you’ve got a chance. I don’t really buy into that sort of thing, I’ll worry about Hull KR.
“Both teams have come with different approaches and who am I to say what’s right or wrong.”