Hull KR new boy Rhyse Martin admits he has been shocked by the intensity of Willie Peters’ pre-season programme. Martin joins the Robins on a two-year deal after making the decision to leave Leeds Rhinos after spending six seasons with the West Yorkshire outfit.
After meeting up with the group for the first time in early December, just a few weeks after his last outing with Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Championships, the back-rower finds himself on the verge of making his debut in red and white. He has stiff competition for a spot in the back-row of course, with Dean Hadley, James Batchelor and Kelepi Tanginoa also at Peters’ disposal, but he’s expected to pull on the red and white shirt for the first time inside the next fortnight.
Rovers travel to York Knights in the Challenge Cup on Friday night and at the time of writing it is unclear if the 31-year-old will be involved in that one, which comes a week before the club host Castleford Tigers in their Super League opener. However, after falling short in the Grand Final last season, winning trophies is KR’s clear objective this season and seemingly they’ve done all they can to ensure they can hit the ground running.
“It’s been hard,” Martin told Serious About RL. “Every day and every session has been pretty intense and the level that we’re training at has been a shock to me.
“I haven’t trained like that for a while, it’s been pretty full on but I’m enjoying it as well. We’re focused more on our footy stuff now but the level of intensity is right up there and we usually mix it up with a bit of conditioning in between just to get that feel as if we’re in a game, under fatigue and all that.
“From day one it’s just been building up and it’s been pretty tough. We’re into the games now so I’m happy about that. Every team trains hard, it’s what the pre-season block is all about, we just have to focus on us.
“Last year was a great year for the club and but we didn’t get any trophies so that’s definitely the drive for this season, but we need to have a good team performance next week and build into the season nicely.”
Despite moving clubs, Martin remains based in Leeds and has joined up with a small group of players who commute to Craven Park from West Yorkshire on a daily basis.
“I’m driving over from Leeds,” the Hull KR man added. “It’s easier to keep the family stable, my wife works in Leeds and with my kids, we’ve just had to select some schools for him.
“While we’re going through that it’s going to be easier for me to travel and the travel isn’t that bad. There’s five of us that drive over and we share the drive.”
All smiles here 😁#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/rJao8CcDSJ
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) January 3, 2025
