Hull KR come into the 2026 season off the back of a campaign which saw them win a clean sweep of Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and the Super League Grand Final.
That success has shattered the glass ceiling as Willie Peters’ side muscled their way in to the northern hemisphere elite, becoming only the fifth club in Super League history to win a Grand Final.
But will their dominance be tested? After all, Wigan came into last season off the back of a historic quadruple of trophies, yet they could not mount a challenge against Hull KR and came away at the end of the season empty-handed.
St Helens, Leeds and Leigh Leopards have recruited well as they look to dethrone the Robins, who also have a trip to Las Vegas to face the Rhinos and next week’s World Club Challenge against National Rugby League premiers Brisbane Broncos to contend with in a packed calendar in the early part of the season.
There has been some turnover at the Robins, with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Micky McIlorum retiring after October’s showpiece, but the club have kept the spine of what has made them so successful in recent seasons.
Talismanic half-back Mikey Lewis signed a huge five-year deal before the 2025 season ended and balancing the old and new is crucial to inspiring success in the future, KR forward Dean Hadley said.
“You look at any successful team, whatever sport that might be and they always have a core group of players and people, which includes the staff,” he told Radio Humberside.
“When you’ve got a group where the majority have been together, you build relationships and connections and you get used to each other.
“Off the back of that it’s important to bring in a few new additions and new energy. The boys that have come in have been really good and added to it but the majority of us have been together now for two or three years and hopefully we can carry on.”
What adds some extra spice to the season is the fact there is a World Cup at the end of it, as England’s best and brightest aim to put themselves in the picture for a spot in the squad that will travel to Australia in October.
With Peters “keen” to have talks for the role of England boss after the departure of Shaun Wane, how many of his KR cohort will be on the plane down under later this year?