It takes only a casual glance at the list of names in Hull KR ’s squad to understand just how the Robins regained their place on the top perch. It may take winning a trophy to be declared as rightfully at the very top, but Rovers’ position on that perch is undeniable.
They’ve done it through smart recruitment, first of their head coach, but secondly in the way this squad has slowly and deliberately been put together, with each addition complimenting another or solving an issue which had held them back previously.
Look down that squad list now and Rovers are a complete team. Possibly the fittest in the league, with arguably the best pack, a Man of Steel winner playing behind the relentless forwards and then a backline that has strike, speed and skill – this team are top of the table for a reason.
A Challenge Cup final appearance in 2023 was a step forward following a disappointing display in the semi-finals a year previously when easily beaten by Huddersfield Giants. Back in the last four a year ago only to lose the first of two major games against all-conquering Wigan Warriors – the second being the Grand Final – Rovers progression continued.
Back at Wembley Stadium’s big dance once again, Rovers will arrive in the capital with a different mind set, different pressures, and certainly different expectations on them. Where once the enjoyment was being a part of the occasion, now it’s about just one thing.
“In the early years when we were getting to the semi-final I think we were just trying to enjoy the experience,” admits Rovers hooker Jez Litten, a player who has witnessed first hand the rebirth of the club in recent years.
“The enjoyment we’ll get now is if we win the cup. Now we look at it as just trying to get a job done, getting to Wembley and getting the cup. We’ve been so close the last couple of years to winning a trophy, now we really want to win it.”
It’s not that Rovers didn’t want to win the cup before, but as Litten hints at, the belief and confidence in the team this year means only by winning the trophy will be they happy. Nobody is going to Wembley for a day out in the sun, that’s for certain.
It’s a view no doubt shared by the majority of supporters, who are back at Wembley for the third time in 10 years. Hull born, Litten understands what victory would mean to the supporters in east Hull and across the Rovers community.
The 27-year-old hooker watched close hand as his then Hull FC team made it back-to-back in his debut season of 2017, seeing the celebrations in the city. After so long a wait he knows the red and whites will party hard if the club can bring the trophy home. But such is the excitement in even the slightest of thoughts about what that would be like, Litten is banning himself of even entertaining the briefest of thoughts.
“All the boys are really motivated to get this trophy because we all know what it means to the fans and everyone at the club,” he adds.
“We’re not blind to what this means to the city and our fans. I can’t imagine the scenes if we win the cup but I’m not trying to imagine it, we need to focus on winning the trophy and that’s all I’m thinking about, what comes after will just happen.”