Hull KR will return to Wembley on Saturday as they face Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Challenge Cup Final.
The Robins, who are the current holders of the trophy, will take on the Warriors in the men’s showpiece at 3pm, with thousands of supporters expected to travel from east Hull to the capital.
Willie Peters’ side set off for London on Thursday after a special send-off at Sewell Group Craven Park, where fans gathered to meet the players before their journey south.
The Craven Streat entrance opened from 9.30am, with supporters invited to take photographs, collect autographs and hear from the first-team squad and coaching staff before they left for Wembley.
The official merchandise stall was also open for fans buying last-minute Wembley accessories, while the kiosk served drinks and breakfast sandwiches as the red and white build-up gathered pace.
There was also a touching stop away from the main send-off, with KR players visiting a care home in Preston Road on Thursday morning.
With residents unable to get to Craven Park, the club took part of the Wembley send-off to them instead.
It was a small detour in terms of the journey to London, but a significant gesture from a club whose recent rise has been shared by supporters across east Hull and beyond.
On the field, Peters has named his 21-man squad for the final, with James Batchelor returning after missing the last two games because of HIA protocols.
Joe Burgess is also back in the extended squad after missing out last week, while Jack Charles and Ryan Hampshire drop out.
The squad includes many of the players who have been central to Rovers’ remarkable recent success, including Mikey Lewis, Tyrone May, Elliot Minchella, Peta Hiku, Tom Davies, Jez Litten, Rhyse Martin and Dean Hadley.
Rovers go into the final not as hopeful outsiders, but as holders and one of the leading forces in the game.
Last year’s Challenge Cup triumph ended a long wait for major silverware and became part of an extraordinary campaign that also brought the League Leaders’ Shield and a first Super League Grand Final victory.
They have since added the World Club Challenge, underlining the scale of the transformation under Peters and chief executive Paul Lakin.
Now they return to Wembley with the chance to defend the cup and strengthen their claim to be the team of this era.
Standing in their way are Wigan, the most decorated club in Challenge Cup history and a side who have become Rovers’ biggest rivals on the biggest stages.
The clubs have met in major finals in each of the past two seasons. Wigan beat Hull KR 9-2 in the 2024 Super League Grand Final, before Rovers hit back with a 24-6 win over the Warriors at Old Trafford last year.
They have also shared some bruising Challenge Cup encounters. Hull KR beat Wigan 11-10 in a dramatic golden point semi-final in 2023, while Wigan responded with a 38-6 semi-final win in 2024.
Saturday’s meeting will be the first Challenge Cup final between the two clubs.
Rovers’ road back to Wembley has been emphatic.
They opened their cup defence with a 104-0 win at Lock Lane before beating Huddersfield Giants 52-12 away from home.
York Knights were then beaten 48-10 at Craven Park in the quarter-finals before Rovers booked their Wembley return with a 32-12 semi-final win over Warrington Wolves.
Wigan have reached the final after wins over Rochdale Hornets, Bradford Bulls, Wakefield Trinity and St Helens.
The sides also met in Super League just over a week before Wembley, when Rovers ran in 11 tries in a 62-4 win over an under-strength Wigan side at Craven Park.
Mikey Lewis scored a hat-trick inside the opening quarter as KR produced a ruthless performance, although both clubs will know that the final is likely to bring a very different contest.
For Rovers, the challenge is to handle the expectation that now comes with success.
Their rise has been one of rugby league’s great modern stories, from a club fighting at the wrong end of Super League to a side now regularly contesting the sport’s biggest prizes.
Wigan know all about that pressure, having spent decades carrying the demands that come with sustained success.
For Hull KR, this is another chance to show that last year’s achievements were not a one-off, but part of a longer period at the top.
With Lewis and May directing play, Minchella leading from the front and a pack capable of matching the best in the competition, Rovers will head to Wembley with confidence as well as momentum.
For the supporters, it is another chance to turn the national stadium red and white.
For the players, it is a chance to defend the Challenge Cup, beat Wigan in another major final and add another chapter to the club’s most successful modern era.
For those who gathered at Craven Park, those who waved them off from the care home on Preston Road and the thousands heading south this weekend, it is also a reminder of just how far the Robins have come.
Hull KR go to Wembley as holders, contenders and a club still hungry for more.
Hull KR 21-man squad:
Tom Davies, Peta Hiku, Oliver Gildart, Joe Burgess, Mikey Lewis, Tyrone May, Sauaso Sue, Jez Litten, Tom Amone, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Elliot Minchella, Jack Broadbent, Sam Luckley, Jai Whitbread, Rhyse Martin, Jack Brown, Karl Lawton, Jordan Dezaria, Noah Booth, Bill Leyland.