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Hull KR

Hull KR history makers, Brad O’Neill, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Super League Grand Final talking points

Hull KR

Hull KR beat Wigan Warriors 24-6 to win the 2025 Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford and complete an historic treble.

Here’s our verdict.

History makers

Trophies are like buses in east Hull, you wait 40 years for one and then three come along at once. It’s been a remarkable season for the Robins and they’ve earned the right to call themselves treble winners, having won the Challenge Cup, the League Leaders’ Shield and now the Super League.

The Robins have well and truly knocked Wigan off their perch and after losing out to quadruple winning Warriors side 12 months ago, Willie Peters’ side have made history of their own.

They deserve all the plaudits they get after being the best side the Northern Hemisphere has had to offer this year and now they can revel in it. What a time to be a Rovers fan.

O’Neill sin bin the difference

Wigan will be kicking themselves, there’s no doubt about that. The Warriors bombed two chances to score early on, with Bevan French going the closest in getting over the line before dropping the ball under pressure from Mikey Lewis.

And, the turning point in the game came when Brad O’Neill was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Tyrone May. It was a poor decision from O’Neill, who played relatively well apart from that moment of madness, and in truth, it cost his side the game.

Rovers scored two when he was off the field, with Mikey Lewis and Joe Burgess touching down and Wigan didn’t have it in them to get back in the contest.

Big stage owned

Willie Peters had been speaking all week urging his Hull KR side to own the big stage and the big moments on Saturday and he regularly referenced one man: Mikey Lewis. The half-back hasn’t always stood out in the largest games and that has led to question marks about his ability to impact matches on such a stage.

Well, he owned Old Trafford on Saturday night, with his performance being enough to win him the Rob Burrow Award. He was the man that got the scoreboard ticking over, slipping by the challenge of Liam Farrell to power away and touch down. And, as the game wore on, he turned in a composed, mature and settled showing to give the Robins the win.

Two greats retire

There were question marks about the decision to play Micky McIlorum on Saturday, but the head coach brought the veteran hooker into the starting line up for one last game before retirement.

He only had 20 minutes or so on the field, but he worked tremendously hard to set a tone and soften up the Warriors before Jez Litten came on to make an huge impact. McIlorum knows what these nights are all about and he played his part to claim one last ring.

The same can be said for Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who left absolutely nothing out there on his last night as a player. The forward played big minutes and in truth, he was absolutely immense.

He gave away the odd penalty but he made sure he was a winner in his final game and he was the man that laid the platform for Jez Litten’s try in the second half. A true great of the game.

Wigan wasteful

The Warriors’ reign is over and as mentioned above, they’ll be kicking themselves. They had chances to take charge of the game early and really put their foot on the throat of the east Hull outfit, but they failed to execute them.

Liam Farrell spilled what would have been a certain try after seeing Bevan French get a small amount of space down the edge.

Then, French dropped the ball over the goalline under pressure from Hull KR man Mikey Lewis. To the naked eye it looked as though the half-back had grounded the ball, but replays showed there was clear separation between his hand and the ball as he went to ground it.

As the game went on and the pressure built, Wigan continued to uncharacteristically give possession away cheaply and it meant they failed to find the foothold in the game they needed.

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