Hull KR survived a late Brisbane Broncos comeback to be crowned World Club Challenge winners after a dramatic 30–24 victory at the MKM Stadium.
After a packed pre-match build-up and the national anthems, Hull KR kicked off in front of a full house and immediately set the tone.
An early high ball was spilled by Kotoni Staggs and the Robins began to apply sustained pressure, forcing errors and winning field position inside the opening exchanges.
The match became heated within the first two minutes when Corey Jensen was hurt in a tackle on Sauaso Sue and required a head injury assessment, while there was also pushing and shoving following an Elliott Minchella challenge, resulting in a penalty to Brisbane.
Hull KR’s pressure soon told. After working the ball wide and pinning Brisbane deep, Tom Amone opened the scoring on six minutes, reacting quickest to Tyrone May’s grubber kick to touch down, with Arthur Mourgue adding the conversion for a 6–0 lead.
Brisbane struggled to settle under the high ball and repeated handling errors handed the Robins further opportunities. From a scrum in front of the posts and a repeat set, Hull KR kept the ball alive and captain Elliott Minchella powered over on 12 minutes. Mourgue again converted to make it 12–0.
The Robins continued to dominate territory and intensity, targeting the Broncos’ backfield and forcing more mistakes. Their third try came on 21 minutes when Jez Litten produced a clever kick under pressure that bounced kindly for Joe Burgess to score in the corner. Rhyse Martin converted from a tight angle to extend the lead to 18–0.
Brisbane’s first real attack brought them close to the line, but Hull KR’s defence held firm. The Broncos eventually responded on 29 minutes when Reece Walsh kicked to the corner, Josiah Karapani kept the ball in play and Gehamat Shibasaki finished the move, although Adam Reynolds missed the conversion as the Robins led 18–4 at half-time.
Hull KR resumed with the same intent after the break despite an enforced reshuffle following an injury to Mourgue, with Mikey Lewis moving to full-back. Early second-half pressure saw Jez Litten and Lewis both held up near the line as the Robins pushed for further scores.
The fourth try arrived on 50 minutes. Lewis launched a high kick that caused problems for the Brisbane defence, the ball bouncing loose for Oliver Gildart to collect and score. Martin added the extras to make it 24–4.
Five minutes later, Lewis again influenced proceedings with a 40–20 that put Hull KR firmly on the front foot, and from the resulting territory Peta Hiku slid over for another try, with Martin converting to stretch the advantage to 30–4.
Brisbane began to mount a fightback in the final quarter. Patrick Carrigan crossed following a flowing move, with Reynolds converting to reduce the deficit to 30–10, before Deine Mariner added another try two minutes later after a sharp dummy and break down the wing. Reynolds again converted to close the gap to 30–16.
The tension increased late on when Brisbane continued to press and, with just over three minutes remaining, they worked the ball wide on the last tackle for Kotoni Staggs to score in the corner, cutting the deficit to 30–24 after Reynolds missed the conversion.
Hull KR held firm through the final minutes to secure the trophy and add a fourth piece of silverware to last year’s treble-winning heroics.