2026 Hull Kingston Rovers season
English rugby league team season
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The 2026 season was Hull Kingston Rovers' tenth consecutive season playing in England's top division of rugby league. They competed in the 2026 Super League season, the 2026 Challenge Cup and, as Super League champions, the 2026 World Club Challenge.
| Hull Kingston Rovers 2026 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2026 World Club Challenge champions | ||||
| 2026 Super League season Rank | 6th | |||
| Play-off result | Eliminators | |||
| Challenge Cup | Runners-up | |||
| World Club Challenge | Champions | |||
| 2026 record | Wins: 21; draws: 0; losses: 13 | |||
| Points scored | For: 748; against: 503 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| Chairman | Neil Hudgell | |||
| Head Coach | Willie Peters | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Sewell Group Craven Park | |||
| Agg. attendance | 11,787[1] | |||
| High attendance | 12,325 Hull F.C., 3 April[2] | |||
| Low attendance | 10,246 Wigan Warriors, 21 May | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Joe Burgess (19) | |||
| Goals | Rhyse Martin (81) | |||
| Points | Rhyse Martin (184) | |||
| ||||
| ||||
Preseason friendlies
| Date and time | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 January; 15:00 | H | Craven Park | L | 6–34 | Leyland | Charles (1/1) | [3] |
World Club Challenge
The 2026 World Club Challenge was confirmed on 6 November 2025, and would be held at the MKM Stadium. The match was the first time since 1986 that Hull Kingston Rovers had played against an Australian team.[4]
| Date and time | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV[5] | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 February, 19:30 | H | MKM Stadium | W | 30–24 | Amone, Minchella, Burgess, Gildart, Hiku | Mourgue (2/2), Martin (3/3) | 24,600 | BBC Three Sky Sports |
[6][7] |
Super League
From 2026, the Super League expanded to 14 teams, with Toulouse Olympique and York Knights being promoted from the RFL Championship via the IMG Grading system.[8] At a meeting of all twelve Super League teams at the Headingley Rugby Stadium on 28 July 2025 to vote on the expansion proposal, Hull Kingston Rovers were one of two teams to vote against expanding the league, with the club preferring for expansion to have instead taken place ahead of the 2027 season.[9]
On 14 May 2025, it was announced that Hull Kingston Rovers would be part of the 2026 Rugby League Las Vegas event, playing their Round 3 fixture against the Leeds Rhinos at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.[10]
Fixtures
Hull Kingston Rovers' Super League 2026 fixtures were released on 27 November 2025:[11][12]
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 851 | 439 | +412 | 44 | Advance to Semi-finals | |
| 2 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 904 | 426 | +478 | 40 | ||
| 3 | 27 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 726 | 465 | +261 | 40 | Advance to Eliminators | |
| 4 | 27 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 709 | 486 | +223 | 38 | ||
| 5 | 27 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 644 | 497 | +147 | 34 | ||
| 6 | 27 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 748 | 503 | +245 | 32 | ||
| 7 | 27 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 636 | 614 | +22 | 30 | ||
| 8 | 27 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 578 | 704 | −126 | 20 | ||
| 9 | 27 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 537 | 802 | −265 | 20 | ||
| 10 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 545 | 791 | −246 | 18 | ||
| 11 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 19 | 488 | 597 | −109 | 16 | ||
| 12 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 19 | 509 | 765 | −256 | 16 | ||
| 13 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 19 | 464 | 866 | −402 | 16 | ||
| 14 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 468 | 852 | −384 | 14 |
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners
Play-offs
| Date and time | Round | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV[5] | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 September; 17:30 | Eliminators | A | Halliwell Jones Stadium | L | 12–35 | Burgess, Hadley | Mourgue (2/2) | 11,073 | BBC Two Sky Sports + Main |
[44] |
Challenge Cup
Hull Kingston Rovers were first drawn on 12 January to play Lock Lane ARLFC in Round 3, following Lock Lane's 42-6 defeat of Brighouse Rangers in their delayed Round 1 fixture on 17 January; as a result of Featherstone Rovers being removed from the competition, Lock Lane gained an automatic bye to enter Round 3.[45] The fixture was originally set to be played away at Lock Lane's Hicksons Arena, with neighbouring Castleford Tigers offering their Wheldon Road stadium as an alternative venue, however both teams later agreed to swap the venue to Craven Park by the request of Lock Lane's players.[46]
Following their victory against Lock Lane, which saw records for Hull Kingston Rovers' highest-scoring victory and most goals scored in a fixture broken,[47] Hull Kingston Rovers beat the Huddersfield Giants away 52-12 in Round 4, entering them into the quarter-finals,[48] then after beating the York Knights 48-10 at home,[49] were drawn to play 2025 finalists Warrington Wolves in the semi-finals.
A 32–12 victory over Catalans qualified Hull Kingston Rovers to play in the 2026 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium, where they played the Wigan Warriors in a 2025 Super League Grand Final rematch.[50] Hull Kingston Rovers ultimately emerged as runners-up in the final against Wigan, who won the match 40-10 with a dominant display over Rovers amid hot conditions at Wembley.[51]
| Date and time | Round | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | TV[5] | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 February; 20:00 | Round 3 | Lock Lane ARLFC | H | Craven Park | W | 104–0[h] | Broadbent (3), Horne (3), Davies (2), Charles (2), Sue, Minchella, Booth, Lawton, Gildart, Mourgue, Whitehead, Brown | Martin (16/18)[i] | Not televised | [47] | |
| 14 March; 15:00 | Round 4 | A | Kirklees Stadium | W | 52–12 | Lewis (2), Whitehead, Hiku, May, Leyland, Luckley, Gildart, Broadbent | Martin (8/9) | 2,736[53] | The Sportsman | [48] | |
| 11 April; 13:30 | Quarter-finals | H | Craven Park | W | 48–10 | May (3), Sue, Broadbent, Whitbread, Lewis, Burgess | Martin (3/4 + 1 pen.), Lewis (3/3), Litten (1/1) | 8,752[54] | BBC Two | [49] | |
| 10 May; 16:00 | Semi-finals | N | Eco-Power Stadium | W | 32–12 | Burgess (2), Batchelor (2), Gildart | Lewis (2/2 + 1 pen.), Martin (2/3 + 1 pen.) | 12,054[55] | BBC Two | [50] | |
| 30 May; 14:00 | Final | N | Wembley Stadium | L | 10–40 | Hiku (2) | Martin (1/2) | 56,383[56] | BBC One | [51] |
Transfers
Gains
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | April 2025[57] | ||
| 3 years | May 2025[58] | ||
| 3 years | August 2025[59] | ||
| 2 years | August 2025[60] | ||
| 4 years | October 2025[61] | ||
| 3 years | October 2025[62] | ||
| 3 years | November 2025[63] | ||
| 3 years | December 2025[64] | ||
| End of season | April 2026[65] | ||
| SC Leucate | End of season | May 2026[66] | |
| End of season | June 2026[67] | ||
| 21⁄2 years | June 2026[68] |
Losses
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 years | March 2025[69] | ||
| N/A | Retirement | April 2025[70] | |
| Released | September 2025[71] | ||
| N/A | Retirement | September 2025[72] | |
| 1 year | October 2025[73] | ||
| 2 years | October 2025[74] | ||
| 1 year | October 2025[75] | ||
| 1 year | October 2025[76] | ||
| 2 years | October 2025[77] | ||
| 1 year | November 2025[78] | ||
| 2 years | November 2025[79] | ||
| 11⁄2 years | June 2026[80] |
Loans out
| Player | Club | Loan period | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| End of season | December 2025[81] | ||
| End of season | January 2026[82] | ||
| One week | March 2026[83] | ||
| One week | March 2026[83] | ||
| One week | May 2026[84] | ||
| End of season | June 2026[85] | ||
| Three weeks | July 2026[86][87] | ||
| End of season | July 2026[88][87] | ||
| One week | August 2026[87] | ||
| One week | August 2026[87] |
Squad
| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 19 September 2026 | ||||||
Notes
- With a game in hand.
- 250th Hull derby fixture[20]
- Kick-off moved to 20:02 in tribute to former Wigan No.2 player Billy Boston.
- This fixture marked Hull Kingston Rovers' highest-scoring fixture of all time, beating a 100–6 record set against Nottingham City RLFC in August 1990.[52][47]
- Martin's goals during this fixture made him Hull Kingston Rovers' highest goal scorer in a single fixture, beating a record of 14 goals jointly held by Colin Armstrong, Alf Carmichael, Damien Couturier and Mike Fletcher.[52][47]
- Amone also spent a large portion of the 2025 season on loan to Castleford Tigers.