Hull KR

Rhyse Martin and Joe Burgess updates as Hull KR boss confirms selection headaches

by
Sam Cook
June 24, 2025

Willie Peters has confirmed that Hull KR will have some major selection headaches with Rhyse Martin nearing his return from injury.

Martin arrived from Leeds Rhinos ahead of the 2025 season but suffered a quadriceps injury early in the Round Three win over Salford Red Devils, something which has sidelined him since.

Friday’s game against Wakefield Trinity has been penciled in as the return date for some time and it seems the Hull KR forward is on track with Willie Peters confirming that Martin will be named to the 21-man squad, as he gave an update on his return to training.

“He’ll be named in the squad and again, we’ll just wait and see later on the week to see where he’s at,” Peters said of the Papua New Guinean international.

“He’s had a long process in terms of getting himself right to play and now he’s ready to play, whether it be this week or next week. When that is, then we’ll look at whether he starts or comes off the interchange and just how we manage his minutes.”

Specifically on the training load, Peters explained: “He’s joined training. He’s been ticking boxes along the way so we’ll just make a decision later on the week whether he plays this week or plays next week.

“He’s only just joined the squad fully but he’s been doing everything what he needs to from a rehab point of view to make sure that he can fully join the squad, which has been this week.”

Hull KR players must ‘earn the jersey’ as star signing returns

Martin’s return means is very timely as Peters had also confirmed that vice-captain James Batchelor had suffered a throat injury, something which requires him to visit the specialist and could sideline him for up to six weeks.

Despite Batchelor’s loss, the Robins still have the likes of Dean Hadley, Kelepi Tanginoa, Jai Whitbread and a host of other forwards very capable of playing in the second-row, along with the returning Martin.

“When you’ve got a squad the way we’ve put together there’s going to be tough conversations, there’s no doubt about that,” Peters explained when asked about selection headaches.

“When we’ve got everyone back on deck for selection it’s a headache for myself and the coaching staff. We’ll pick a team based on form, we’ll pick a team based on training and how they’re performing at training. We’ll pick a team based on attitude.

“There’s a lot of factors of how we’ll select a side based on who we’re playing that week but at the end of the day there’ll be players that miss out that should be in the team.”

He admitted: “It’s unfortunate for certain players but it’s a good position to be in. It’s a position that we wanted to be in and that’s why we’ve gone and put together a squad. That squad has helped us win a Challenge Cup.

“It’s not fun talking to players and telling players that they’re not in. Obviously it’s probably the part that you don’t enjoy, I certainly don’t enjoy that but you’d rather be in a position to be able to have headaches like that.

“I always talk about, you need to earn the jersey. Having players in there that probably haven’t earned the right to be in there, I’d rather they go the other way, that’s for sure.”

Noah Booth putting pressure on Joe Burgess

One position where a selection headache could emerge in future years, but hasn’t quite been created yet, is on the wing following the strong performances of Noah Booth.

Booth was another who signed in 2025, joining from Wakefield Trinity in a swap deal that saw Neil Tchamambe go the other way. Whilst at Trinity, Booth had been sent on a season-long loan to Hunslet and whilst Hull KR initially honoured that, they would later recall Booth for some Super League action.

He’s played four games and scored four tries for the Robins with his latest brace against Castleford Tigers ensuring he caught the eye again. With starting winger Joe Burgess in contention to return, Peters was asked if Booth had done enough to force a selection headache on the wing.

Peters conceded that wasn’t quite the case yet, noting: “If Joe’s fit, Joe will play, but there will certainly come a stage where it’s going to be a competition for spots, but Joe’s earned that right to be our starting winger at the moment. He’s obviously helped us win a Challenge Cup final and Noah’s at the start of his career, but there’s no doubt we’d want to see Noah and others put pressure on our starting wingers because we don’t want complacency as a group.”

One thing that Booth’s form has done is send a warning to others, with Peters stating: “Individuals can’t afford to get complacent because we want to have that, where we saw it before, where it’s a squad and it’s competition for spots.”

As for Burgess and whether he could play on Friday, the Hull KR boss said: “He’s in contention, yes, so we just need to work out or he needs to be able to prove that he can play.”