Hull KR forward Sam Luckley has discussed what went on in the moments leading up to the Challenge Cup Final with footage emerging via the club of an empowering speech he gave to his fellow teammates.
Luckley featured off the bench in the 8-6 win over Warrington Wolves, in what is the Newcastle-born prop’s first piece of silverware as a player.
Speaking to the media this week, Luckley spoke on how the speech, which was included in a behind the scenes video made by KR, came about and how he thought nothing of it at the time.
He said: “I do something like that after the warm-up when I speak in the middles, we’ve got a little group meeting and it’s just something that we do.”
He continued: “It’s not always the over-the-trenches speech, sometimes it could just be highlighting a few points about a team. For Wigan, for example, ‘let’s just watch out for Bevan and Jai’.”
What fuelled Hull KR forward’s Challenge Cup speech?
The Scotland international praised the rest of his teammates on how they all bring their own qualities on and off the pitch.
“Mini’s the skipper but we’ve got other leaders in that team who lead in different ways and everyone’s got something they can add, so we’re a really special group” said Luckley.
“I don’t really think it’s strengthened the group, because we’re already pretty strong, but maybe they did just galvanise us for a little bit, get the blood pumping. We didn’t really need hyped up anymore, but every little helps, I guess. “
Luckley described how the heartbreak of losing the Cup in 2023, and the Grand Final in 2024 was a huge motivator in the Robins’ win.
“Leading up to [the speech], I was thinking about the first Challenge Cup when we lost, the GF when we lost, and just what it meant to us, because there wasn’t many of us who left who had played in that first Challenge Cup.
“So just using your emotions, and I just spoke from the heart. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and it just is what it is.”
You can watch the iconic speech in the embedded tweet below.
Setting the tone 👊#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/FlfIO4MPaz
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) June 11, 2025
