As Joe Burgess raced away in the final moments to put the seal on an unprecedented season in Hull KR’s 143-year history, it was difficult to know where to look first as decades of frustration poured out all around Old Trafford.
The Robins began the campaign as rugby league’s great bridesmaids. Without a major trophy in 40 years and with a litany of failures at the final hurdle, you wondered whether this talented group of players could ever shake off the tag of nearly men.
That moment finally arrived earlier this summer when KR won the Challenge Cup but the one they really wanted was a first league title since 1985. Freed of the pressures of the past at last, Willie Peters and his side underlined in no uncertain terms on the biggest stage why Rovers are now Super League’s premier side.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Robins did to Wigan what Wigan have become accustomed to doing to opposition sides throughout their own era of dominance. After a nervy start, Rovers were far superior in almost every aspect and once they went ahead, they never looked like surrendering that advantage. Against a team as good as Wigan, that is about as high a compliment as you can pay them.
The contest had already been decided by the time Burgess seared away in the closing minutes. Peters, the man who has masterminded this remarkable turnaround to drag a club who were bottom of the Super League as recently as 2020 to the treble, hugged almost every member of staff he could lay his hands on.
The Rovers substitutes fell to their knees and the 20,000-plus KR fans, many of whom could have never imagined one trophy, let alone three, were sent into delirium. They are only the fifth club to win the Grand Final, with Leeds the last team to win it for the first time in 2004.
There can be no complaints about the outcome, with Rovers sensational when it mattered most: producing the kind of display Wigan have done in the biggest games in recent years. “There’s only been four teams who’ve won the treble and nobody has won the treble twice, which tells you how hard it is,” Peters said. “They have been absolutely amazing.”
The contest could and perhaps should have taken a very different outlook in the first half, but for some rare profligacy from Wigan as opportunities for Liam Farrell and Bevan French came and went. There was a fair argument to say it should have been 12-0 to Wigan and with their record in finals that would have been commanding.
The game swung on a pivotal moment as Wigan’s Brad O’Neill was sent to the sin-bin after a dangerous tackle on Tyrone May. Within two minutes, Hull KR went ahead as the outstanding Mikey Lewis cut through to score between the posts. With O’Neill still off the field the Robins went further in front as a fine passage of play led to the former Wigan winger Burgess touching down.
Rhyse Martin missed the conversion but suddenly, the reigning champions were scrambling. A penalty from Adam Keighran on the stroke of half-time got Wigan on the board and when Harry Smith scored shortly after the restart, a comeback appeared to be on the cards. But Hull KR quelled it as a penalty from Martin nudged their lead back out to six points.
They then scored the decisive try as Jez Litten finished a fine move to leave Wigan behind by 12 and, quite frankly, shellshocked. This was an off-colour night from them, and they could have no complaints about the outcome, a point their head coach, Matt Peel, made post-match.
“It’s tempting to look back on things we wish we’d done differently,” Peet said. “We didn’t do what we’d love to do but you’ve got to credit Hull KR for their energy in those periods. Full credit to them.”
Wigan were bidding to secure a third successive Super League crown but this never felt like it would be their night – especially when it was revealed after the game that Hull KR’s hooker, Michael McIlorum, played through the pain with a fractured ankle.
Burgess’s try with three minutes left merely confirmed what everyone had started to expect over the course of the evening: there is a new force in Super League at long last.
