Hull KR are the new World Club champions after a stunning victory over NRL Premiers Brisbane Broncos, and the stats show they more than earned their title.
After defeating Wigan Warriors to cap off a treble-wining season in 2025, the Robins have now added a fourth consecutive trophy to their cabinet, and this one may be the biggest of them all.
Few gave the side a chance, particularly after their shock defeat to York Knights last week, but Willie Peters’ men put in an almighty performance to show the world what the club, and Super League, are all about.
Racing to an 18-0 lead inside the opening 25 minutes, the Robins came out in the second half firing, and after an hour had been played, they led 30-4.
A Broncos comeback then started, leading to some very nervy fans in the ground, but they managed to hold the Broncos off and become only the sixth English side to lift the World Club Challenge trophy.
We have dived into some of the stats that earned KR their trophy, and there were plenty of players who saved their best performances for when it mattered most.
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Hull KR clinch World Club Challenge
Starting off with some of the team stats, the Robins had a completion rate of 89%, as they finished 34 of 38 sets.
They also had a kick defusal rate of 75% (compared to Brisbane’s 38%), made less errors and gave away no six agains.
Doing the basics right certainly helped KR to their victory, and more to the point, Brisbane failing to do so cost them for huge parts of the game.
Moving on to the players, Dean Hadley was awarded the Player of the Match award – as he gave a standout performance switching between the back and front row.
Playing the full 80 minutes, the former Hull FC man ran for 180 metres across 10 carries, 59 of which were post-contact.
Hadley also made 39 tackle, most of any KR players, and had a tackle efficiency of 85%.
Fellow forward Sauaso Sue also had a storming game. In a total of 32 minutes, the prop ran for 132 metres, and also made 11 hit-ups, with a tackle efficiency of 94%.
Jez Litten started the game in his natural position of hooker, but Arthur Mourgue’s injury saw Mikey Lewis move to full-back and him to the halves, but that didn’t affect his performance.
The England international set up two tries, including a delicate little kick to allow Joe Burgess to score. He also put Elliot Minchella through to crash over – a try that gave the Robins a 12-0 lead after just 12 minutes.
Burgess’ opposite winger, Tom Davies, topped KR’s metre stats with 185, the majority of those came from back-field as he carried early in the set to try get his side out of danger.
