Hull KR owner makes ‘immortality’ World Club Challenge claim as Craven Park waiting list disclosed

Hull KR will etch their names into rugby league immortality with victory in Thursday night’s World Club Challenge, says long-standing owner Neil Hudgell.

The Super League champions take on NRL premiers Brisbane Broncos in the 2026 edition of the game that will determine club rugby league’s top side.

Rovers are appearing in the contest for the first time, and a sold-out crowd at the MKM Stadium will be – mostly – roaring on the Robins as they go in search of becoming the first world champion side to emanate from the city of Hull.

And Hudgell, whose 25-year ownership has experienced ultimate highs such as last year’s treble, but also painstaking lows such as financial turbulence and relegation, admits to Love Rugby League that he is in no doubt what a win on Thursday would mean for Rovers’ place in the sport’s history.

“I’m always asked whether it’s been worth it; the blood, sweat, tears and investment,” Hudgell admitted. “I would have always said no right up until the day we completed that treble. We now have a legacy in the history of the sport and the city of Hull. That made it a yes for me.

“To lay a World Club Challenge on top of that, for Hull KR to be champions of the rugby league world.. well that’s immortality stuff isn’t it. There has never been a world champion team in Hull. To be the first, that’s pretty much what you dream of.”

In order to satisfy monumental demand from people in the city, Rovers will attempt to turn the home of their biggest rivals into a sea of red and white, with numerous pre-match exploits planned.

Hudgell admitted that he believes there are thousands of supporters now unable to get into Robins home fixtures due to the momentum they have built up – and crowds of 15,000 would be easily achievable if they had the space.

He puts that down to Rovers successfully remodelling the demographic of their supporter base.

“We probably could get over 15,000 people in at Craven Park,” he says. “There’s thousands on a waiting list and that job has been done quietly in the background. A few years ago the demographic was basically me: older, middle-aged white males. But we’ve worked to get young kids invested and I suppose that’s what you’re going to see when it’s full on Thursday.”

And having been on the terraces the last time Hull KR played an Australian team – all the way back in 1983, when they famously defeated Queensland – Hudgell accepts it will be a night to savour no matter what the outcome given how far the club have come in recent history.

“I vividly remember the old Craven Park, crowds of barely more than 1,000 – people just weren’t really interested in Hull KR for long periods of time,” he recalls.

“The old ground had a greyhound track running around it, we’d all be mucking in to get the pitch playable. There was one food kiosk, everyone knew each other by name because it was more akin to a religion of habit rather than any sense of belief you could go on and achieve something. We’ve waited a hell of a long time for this.

“I’ve seen ten years of absolutely everything and 30 years of nothing,” he adds. “The moral of the story here is to take nothing for granted. I grew up with Hull KR being a great team. Thursday is the moment of a return to those nights and those days but I’m very conscious nothing lasts forever, and I hope people embrace the moment like I’m going to.”