2025 Hull Kingston Rovers season

The 2025 season is Hull Kingston Rovers' ninth consecutive season playing in England's top division of rugby league. They are competing in the 2025 Super League season and competed in the 2025 Challenge Cup.

Hull Kingston Rovers 2025 season
2025 Challenge Cup champions
2025 Super League season Rank	1st
Challenge Cup	Champions
2025 record	Wins: 24; draws: 0; losses: 3
Points scored	For: 710; against: 204
Team information
Chairman	Neil Hudgell
Head Coach	Willie Peters
Captain	Elliot Minchella
Stadium	Craven Park
High attendance	11,350 Catalans Dragons, 13 June[a][1]
Low attendance	10,515 Salford Red Devils, 27 February[2]
Top scorers
Tries	Mikey Lewis (19)
Goals	Arthur Mourgue (69)
Points	Arthur Mourgue (168)
Home colours Away colours
← 2024 List of seasons 2026 →

Preseason friendlies

On 28 May 2024, the club announced that they would face York Knights in the Rugby League Amsterdam Challenge, a pre-season friendly held at the NRCA Stadium in Amsterdam on 25 January 2025. The match, organised in partnership with the Netherlands Rugby League Bond, aims to develop rugby league in the Netherlands,^[3][4] and was later confirmed to be the club's only pre-season friendly of 2025.^[5]

Date and Time	Versus	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance	Report
25 January; 12:30 (GMT)	York Knights	N	NRCA Stadium	L	12–26	Gorman, Tennison	Richardson (2/2)	2,715	[6]

Super League

Main article: 2025 Super League season

Date and Time	Round	Versus	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance	TV	Pos.	Report
14 February; 20:00	Round 1	Castleford Tigers	H	Craven Park	W	19–18 (g.p.)	Burgess (3), Hiku	Martin (1/4) Drop-goals: Lewis	11,020[7]	Sky Sports Action	5th	[8]
20 February; 20:00	Round 2	Wakefield Trinity	A	Belle Vue	W	14–12	Davies, Lewis	Martin (2/2 + 1 pen.)	8,065	Sky Sports Action	4th	[9]
27 February; 20:00	Round 3	Salford Red Devils	H	Craven Park	W	42–0	Whitbread (2), Tanginoa, Gildart, Davies, Broadbent, Richardson, Litten	Martin (1/2), Richardson (3/4 + 2 pen.)	10,515[2]	Sky Sports +	2nd	[10]
7 March; 20:00	Round 4	St Helens	A	Totally Wicked Stadium	W	20–10	Gildart (2), Lewis, Davies	Lewis (2/4)	11,438	Sky Sports Action	1st	[11]
23 March; 15:00	Round 5	Leigh Leopards	H	Craven Park	W	30–0	Lewis (2), Gildart, Tanginoa, Davies	Lewis (4/5 + 1 pen.)	11,231[12]	Sky Sports +	1st	[13]
30 March; 15:00	Round 6	Huddersfield Giants	A	Kirklees Stadium	W	50–4	Lewis (3), Litten (2), Gildart, Mourgue, Whitbread, Davies	Mourgue (7/9)	5,015	Sky Sports +	1st	[14]
11 April; 20:00	Round 7	Wigan Warriors	H	Craven Park	L	12–28	Burgess, Hiku	Mourgue (2/2)	11,000+[b]	Sky Sports Action	1st	[15]
18 April, 12:30 (Good Friday)	Round 8 (Rivals Round)	Hull F.C.	A	MKM Stadium	W	28–14	Gildart, Hiku, Mourgue, Batchelor, Waerea-Hargreaves	Mourgue (3/4), Lewis (1/1)	21,018	Sky Sports Action	1st	[16]
25 April, 20:00	Round 9	Leeds Rhinos	A	Headingley Rugby Stadium	W	20–14	Broadbent (2), Batchelor, Lewis	Mourgue (1/4 + 1 pen.)	16,863	Sky Sports Action	1st	[17]
3 May; 17:15	Round 10 (Magic Weekend)	Salford Red Devils	N	St James' Park	W	54–0	Litten (2), Mourgue (2), Hadley, Luckley, Hiku, Batchelor, Booth	Mourgue (9/9)	31,294[c]	Sky Sports Action	1st	[18]
17 May; 17:30[d]	Round 11	Huddersfield Giants	H	Craven Park	W	34–0	Burgess (2), Lewis, May, Tanginoa, Jack Brown	Mourgue (5/6)	10,764[20]	Sky Sports +	1st	[21]
23 May; 20:00	Round 12	Warrington Wolves	A	Halliwell Jones Stadium	W	31–12	Davies (2), Broadbent, Lewis, Burgess, May	Mourgue (3/6) Drop-goals: Lewis	9,972[22]	Sky Sports Action	1st	[23]
30 May; 20:00	Round 13	St Helens	H	Craven Park	W	34–4	Broadbent (2), Lewis (2), Hiku, Minchella	Mourgue (5/6)	11,087[24]	Sky Sports Action	1st	[25]
13 June; 20:00	Round 14	Catalans Dragons	H	Craven Park	W	68–6	Batchelor (2), Sue (2), Lewis (2), Davies, Tanginoa, Broadbent, Booth, Whitbread, May	Mourgue (10/12)	11,350[a][1]	Sky Sports +	1st	[26]
19 June; 20:00	Round 15	Castleford Tigers	A	The Jungle	W	48–0	Booth (3), Davies (2), Mourgue, Whitbread, Hiku, Broadbent	Mourgue (6/9)	7,650[27]	Sky Sports Action	1st	[28]
27 June; 20:00	Round 16	Wakefield Trinity	H	Craven Park	W	34–10	Davies (3), Burgess, Lewis, Hiku	Mourgue (5/6)		Sky Sports +	1st	[29]
6 July; 15:00	Round 17	Leeds Rhinos	H	Craven Park	L	8–14	Martin	Mourgue (1/1 + 1 pen.)		Sky Sports Action	1st	[30]
12 July; 15:00	Round 18	Leigh Leopards	A	Leigh Sports Village	L	10–28	May, Tanginoa	Mourgue (1/2)		Sky Sports + BBC iPlayer[31]	1st	[32]
19 July; 18:00 (BST)	Round 19	Catalans Dragons	A	Stade Gilbert Brutus	W	34–6	Broadbent (2), Lewis (2), Burgess (2)	Mourgue (5/6)		Sky Sports Action	1st	[33]
31 July; 20:00	Round 20	Salford Red Devils	A	Salford Community Stadium	W	74–12	Burgess (4) Davies (2), Martin (2), Litten (2), Broadbent, Sue, Lewis, Mourgue	Mourgue (2/4), Martin (6/9 + 1 pen.)		Sky Sports Action	1st	[34]
9 August; 15:00	Round 21	Castleford Tigers	H	Craven Park	W	36–6	Burgess (3), Litten, Martin, Lewis, Mourgue	Mourgue (4/7)	11,038[35]	Sky Sports +	1st	[36]
15 August; 20:00	Round 22	Wigan Warriors	A	Brick Community Stadium	W	10–6	Hadley	Martin (1/1 + 2 pen.)	20,218	Sky Sports Action	1st	[37]
21 August; 20:00	Round 23	Leeds Rhinos	A	Headingley Rugby Stadium		–				Sky Sports Action
29 August; 20:00	Round 24	St Helens	H	Craven Park		–				Sky Sports Action
7 September; 15:00	Round 25	Hull F.C.	H	Craven Park		–				Sky Sports Action
13 September; 15:00	Round 26	Wakefield Trinity	A	Belle Vue		–				Sky Sports +
21 September; 15:00	Round 27	Warrington Wolves	H	Craven Park		–				Sky Sports

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hull KR (T)	22	19	0	3	710	204	+506	38	Advance to Semi-finals
2	Wigan Warriors	22	16	0	6	608	311	+297	32
3	St Helens	22	15	0	7	613	222	+391	30	Advance to Eliminators
4	Leeds Rhinos	22	15	0	7	508	266	+242	30
5	Leigh Leopards	22	14	1	7	443	402	+41	29
6	Hull FC	22	12	1	9	469	365	+104	25
7	Wakefield Trinity[A]	22	12	0	10	536	358	+178	24
8	Warrington Wolves	22	10	0	12	424	497	−73	20
9	Catalans Dragons (U)	22	6	0	16	324	562	−238	12
10	Castleford Tigers (U)	22	5	0	17	330	621	−291	10
11	Huddersfield Giants (U)	22	5	0	17	284	616	−332	10
12	Salford Red Devils[A] (U)	22	2	0	20	163	988	−825	4

Updated to match(es) played on 17 August 2025. Source:
(T) Qualified, but not yet for the particular phase indicated; (U) Unable to qualify for the playoffs

1. Salford forfeited their game against Wakefield. Under RFL operational rules, the game is recorded as a 48–0 victory for Wakefield, and converse loss for Salford, with the points scored/conceded applying to both teams.^[38]

Challenge Cup

Elliot Minchella and the Hull Kingston Rovers squad celebrate lifting the Challenge Cup at Hull City Hall

Main article: 2025 Challenge Cup

On 25 June 2024, the RFL announced a change to the Challenge Cup format, totalling 7 rounds compared to the previous 9, with Super League teams entering to play away from home at round 3.^[39]

Hull Kingston Rovers were first drawn on 14 January to play the York Knights away in Round 3, with the fixture being the last to be confirmed following York's delayed Round 2 72–12 victory against the Keighley Cougars on 2 February.^[40][41] Following their victory against York, Hull Kingston Rovers beat Oldham R.L.F.C. 40–0 at home on 14 March,^[42] entering them into the quarter-finals; Hull Kingston Rovers, for the first time since the first round of the 1985–86 Challenge Cup, were drawn in a Hull Derby to play Hull F.C. away at the MKM Stadium on 5 April.^[43][44]

After winning 32–16 in the quarter-final derby, Hull Kingston Rovers returned to the York Community Stadium to play the Catalans Dragons in the semi-finals on 10 May. A 36–12 victory over Catalans qualified Hull Kingston Rovers to play in the 2025 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium, where they will play the Warrington Wolves.^[45] Following a closely-contended match, Hull Kingston Rovers won the final 8-6 won the Challenge Cup, ending a 40-year trophy drought since the club won the 1984–85 John Player Special Trophy.^[46]

Date and time	Round	Versus	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance	TV	Report
7 February; 19:30	Round 3	York Knights	A	York Community Stadium	W	44–2	Martin (2), Lewis (2), Hiku, Davies, Evalds, Tanginoa	Martin (6/8)	5,369	The Sportsman	[47]
14 March; 20:00	Round 4	Oldham R.L.F.C.	H	Craven Park	W	40–0	Gildart (2), Davies, Whitbread, Kershaw, Leyland, Broadbent	Richardson (6/7)	Unknown[b]	Not televised	[48]
5 April; 14:30	Quarter-finals	Hull F.C.	A	MKM Stadium	W	32–16	Burgess (2), Davies, Broadbent, Litten	Litten (5/5 + 1 pen.)	20,226	BBC One	[49]
10 May; 14:30	Semi-finals	Catalans Dragons	N	York Community Stadium	W	36–12	Batchelor (2), Broadbent (2), Lewis, Burgess	Lewis (5/6 + 1 pen.)	8,402[50]	BBC One	[45]
7 June; 15:00	Final	Warrington Wolves	N	Wembley Stadium	W	8–6	Davies	Lewis (1/1 + 1 pen.)	63,278[51]	BBC One	[46]

Transfers

Gains

Player	Club	Contract	Date
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves	Sydney Roosters	1 Year	February 2024[52]
Jack Brown	Hull FC	2 Years	May 2024[53]
Tom Davies	Catalans Dragons	3 Years	June 2024[54]
Eribe Doro	Bradford Bulls	2 Years	June 2024[55]
Bill Leyland	London Broncos	2 Years	July 2024[56]
Michael McIlorum	Catalans Dragons	1 Year	July 2024[57]
Danny Richardson	Castleford Tigers	2 Years	August 2024[58]
Rhyse Martin	Leeds Rhinos	2 Years	August 2024[59]
Lee Kershaw	London Broncos	2 Years	November 2024[60]
Leon Ruan	Leeds Rhinos	2 Years	December 2024[61]
Noah Booth	Wakefield Trinity	4 Years	January 2025[62]
Arthur Mourgue	Catalans Dragons	31⁄2 Years	March 2025[63]

Loans in

Player	Club	Loan period	Date
Cobie Wainhouse	Hull F.C.	End of season	August 2025[64]
Rowan Milnes	Castleford Tigers	Two weeks	August 2025[65]

Losses

Player	Club	Contract	Date
Ryan Hall	Leeds Rhinos	1 Year	April 2024[66]
Yusuf Aydin	Hull FC	2 Years	May 2024[53]
Louis Senior	Castleford Tigers	2 Years	May 2024[67]
Jordan Abdull	Hull FC	3 Years	June 2024[68]
Ben Reynolds	Featherstone Rovers	2 Years	July 2024[69]
Matty Storton	Wakefield Trinity	3 Years	August 2024[70]
Tom Opacic	N/A	Released	August 2024[71]
Harvey Moore	N/A	Released	September 2024[72]
George King	Huddersfield Giants	4 Years	October 2024[73]
Reiss Butterworth	Sheffield Eagles	2 Years	November 2024[74]
Matt Parcell	N/A	Retirement	November 2024[75]
Danny Richardson	York Knights	End of Championship season	August 2025[65]
Niall Evalds	Huddersfield Giants	2 Years[e]	August 2025[77]

Loans out

Player	Club	Loan period	Date
Noah Booth	Hunslet	End of season	January 2025[62]
Neil Tchamambe	Wakefield Trinity	End of season	January 2025[62]
Lennie Ellis	Goole Vikings	Six weeks	February 2025[78]
Zach Fishwick	Hunslet	Three weeks	February 2025[79]
Lee Kershaw	Castleford Tigers	Two weeks[f]	April 2025[80]
Eribe Doro	Bradford Bulls	Two weeks	April 2025[81]
Harvey Horne	Sheffield Eagles	End of season[g]	April 2025[81]
Danny Richardson	Salford Red Devils	Two weeks[h]	June 2025[83]
Harvey Horne	Doncaster R.L.F.C.	Two weeks	July 2025[84]

Squad

2025 Hull Kingston Rovers Squad

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First team squad								Coaching staff
2 Tom Davies – WG 3 Peta Hiku – CE 4 Oliver Gildart – CE 5 Joe Burgess – WG 6 Mikey Lewis – SO [i] 7 Tyrone May – HB 8 Sauaso Sue – PR 9 Jez Litten – HK 10 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves – PR 11 Dean Hadley – SR 12 James Batchelor – SR 13 Elliot Minchella (c) – LF		14 Michael McIlorum – HK 15 Sam Luckley – PR, LF, SR 16 Jai Whitbread – PR 17 Rhyse Martin – SR, LF, CE (gk) 18 Jack Broadbent – CE, SO, FB, WG 20 Kelepi Tanginoa – PR, SR, LF 21 Jack Brown – LF 23 Lee Kershaw – WG 24 Eribe Doro – PR		25 Bill Leyland – HK 28 Zach Fishwick – PR 29 Louix Gorman – CE, WG, FB 30 Leo Tennison – PR 31 Lennie Ellis – HK 32 Connor Barley – WG, CE 35 Arthur Mourgue – FB, HB, HK (gk) 36 Noah Booth – CE, FB, SO Rowan Milnes – HB				Head coach Willie Peters Assistant coaches David Hodgson Danny Ward Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) = suspended = injured (gk) = Goal kicker Updated: 20 December 2024 Source(s): Hull KR announce 2025 Squad Numbers, Backroom Staff

Notes

1. This match marked Hull Kingston Rovers' highest attended Super League home match of all time.
2. No exact attendance figure released.
3. Attendance recorded across three fixtures.
4. Kick-off changed from 15:00 to prevent clashing with the 2025 FA Cup final.^[19]
5. Evalds was initially signed to Huddersfield on an end-of-season loan in March 2025.^[76]
6. Kershaw had already been loaned to Castleford on a two-week deal in March, however he was recalled to Hull Kingston Rovers for Round 4 of the Challenge Cup due to a high number of squad injuries.
7. Recalled from loan for unknown reason.
8. Recalled from loan after one week due to cover for Mikey Lewis, who had failed a head injury assessment in the fixture against Leeds Rhinos on 6 July.^[82]
9. Shirt number 6 had originally been retired by the club in 2017 following the death of former player and coach Roger Millward, however it was revived for use by Mikey Lewis in December 2024.^[85]