Rhyse Martin will hang his boots up at the end of the 2026 season
YORK, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Rhyse Martin of Hull KR prepares to kick a conversion during the Betfred Super League match between York Knights and Hull KR at LNER Community Stadium on February 12, 2026 in York, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)(Image: Getty )
The opportunity to help Papua New Guinea Chiefs off the ground in the NRL was one Hull KR man Rhyse Martin felt he couldn’t turn down as he prepares to call time on his career.
Martin has made the decision to hang up his boots at the end of the season in order to take up the role of football operations manager with the Chiefs, where he will be working under his current head coach Willie Peters.
It’s a decision that brings an end to a career that has spanned 13 seasons, with Martin joining Sydney Roosters in 2014 as a youngster before making his NRL debut with Canterbury Bulldogs in 2018.
The 33-year-old joined Leeds Rhinos in 2019, where he scored over 1,000 points in five and a half years. The move to Hull KR came ahead of the 2025 campaign and he helped the Robins to a historic treble last year.
The back-rower is the current captain of the Papua New Guinea national team with 21 caps under his belt and he will officially bow out after representing the Kumuls in this autumn’s World Cup.
Indeed, Martin is a legend of PNG rugby league and he’s thrilled to play a major role in the country’s first ever professional team.
“I think just the opportunity outweighs the next couple of years if I was to keep playing,” Martin told Hull Live on his decision to hang up his boots, which was announced at the end of May. “I’m super excited by it.
“When the Chiefs were first announced or came about, I thought I’d love to be a part of that team and originally it was to play.
“When you’re a player at the backend, you start thinking about what are you going to do after you stop playing and fortunately, I was in a position where I’ve been doing a bit of studying and education on the side to put me in a position where I can take his role on and being the footy operations for the Chiefs is something I’m super excited for.
“We [Martin and Peters] had a few conversations, it initially started way before he got announced as coach. We sat down and he asked me what my plan was for the rest of my career, I told him with my studies where I wanted to end up and he remembered that once he got announced as coach.
“We spoke about it and it seemed like the right time to stop playing. This opportunity if I was to leave it wouldn’t be there. He’s been instrumental in terms of guiding me and backing me to do this role for him.”
Martin will be running the logistical side of the team, including travel and training venues, but on the field, he’s backing the Chiefs to make a swift impact.
“Sitting here right now there’s still a lot of work to be done but to field a team in round one 2028 is going to be a special moment,” Martin added. “There’s going to be a big push to be very successful early on and build sustainability in the team. For me just getting a team out in round one is going to be a very special moment.”
Before he makes the move to Port Moresby, Martin has the remainder of the season to finish with Hull KR with Peters’ side determined to overcome their recent struggles, find traction and build towards the defence of their Super League crown.
That starts this weekend when the Robins take on Hull FC at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, the venue for this year’s Magic Weekend.
However, despite being half way through his second season in red and white, Martin is yet to experience a Hull derby.
“Last year my quad got torn off and then this year I had my fractured ankle so I missed them last year and I missed the first one this year,” Martin said. “I’m expecting plenty of aggression and emotion.
“The teams don’t like each other. Away from the field everyone knows everyone so we’re all friendly but when it’s game day everyone wants to win for our team on the day. I’m excited.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere and I’m looking forward to finally getting out there.”
On Rovers’ recent fortunes he added: “There’s things we need to work on as a team but the hunger we need to be successful, to win every week, is in the team. It’s been up and down the last month but we’ll get into a rhythm again and we’ll see where we’re at.”