Hull KR captain Elliot Minchella shut down questions over last year’s Challenge Cup win, instead insisting it’s time for the 2026 squad to write their own chapter.
Whilst the Robins have generally retained much of the same squad, Minchella insists that 2026 is a completely new season and it’s time to look forward, rather than reflecting on the past.
What’s ahead of Minchella and his Hull KR teammates will of course trigger memories as they’re set to take on last year’s beaten finalists, Warrington, in this year’s semi-finals.
It’s a fixture that creates its own narratives given how dramatic Hull KR’s win at Wembley was last year but for Minchella, he’s focused solely on the task at hand and creating new history.
“I guess so, maybe a little bit, but it’s a new year as well,” he responded when asked if this year felt any different given that the Robins are defending their trophy.
“It’s a new team if you like, there’s new individuals within our team, and obviously last year was last year, we’ve left that in the past.
“This is a new year and the 2026 group want to write their own chapters, and whilst we recognise last year was great, it’s last year. If you keep talking about it or thinking about it, you lose track of what you’re about to do.
“We recognised last year was unbelievable, but this is a new year, and we want to make history as a group for ’26.”
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Hull KR skipper hails Willie Peters impact as Robins set for fifth straight Challenge Cup semi-final
One thing that wasn’t lost on him was what games like this mean for the Hull KR faithful with Minchella one of the few players at the Robins before the arrival of Willie Peters, and all the success that the Australian has brought.
In fact, Minchella is one of three current players who played in the 2022 Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Huddersfield Giants, with the Robins having reached this stage or further every year since.
Minchella admitted: “I think it’s not long ago that we were never competing in these games, so there’s a lot of fans who’ve seen a lot of tough times at the club, and rightly so, they get to enjoy days like Sunday.
“Hopefully we get the result for them, but not so long ago this club was probably dreaming about playing in games like this and that’s not lost on us as players, but I’m sure the fans as well,
“As players, our responsibility is to keep bringing them joy, and that’s what we look to do on Sunday.”
A win over Warrington would put Hull KR just 80 minutes away from a fifth trophy in the space of 12 months, something that Minchella admitted he could never have expected but something he put down to Willie Peters.
The skipper said: “I’ve just enjoyed the last few years, it’s been good to evolve with the club, and with Willy, he’s been great for me personally, but also for the team and the club, and what he’s done is just transformed it.
“I probably never expected it (winning four trophies inside 12 months), I always obviously had ambitions and goals to win trophies… but like I said at the start, 25 is 25, we’re in 2026 now, so we want to create our own history as this team for this year.”
