Hull KR captain Elliot Minchella has boxer's mentality as senior players enter pre-season arena

Hull Kingston Rovers captain Elliot Minchella is feeling like a boxer going into camp ahead of battle, with senior players having entered the building for pre-season today.

With 2024 Grand Finalists Hull KR gearing up for a new chapter in 2025, today and tomorrow have been designated testing days for senior men as the shape they are in is assessed. The majority of players are back now - aside from those granted extended breaks in exceptional circumstances.

Minchella said: "Pre-season is tough. I look at it like boxing. Boxers go on camps before a fight and it's similar for us. Our fight lasts for nine months from February until October. So you've got to put the work in now to reap the rewards. I've had easier pre-seasons and I've had hard ones - and I know for a fact that when you have a had a really tough pre-season, you have a much better year.

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"Boxers peak for a fight. We have 27 fights throughout a year and play-off series and Challenge Cup and whatever else so if you don't do the work in the pre-season then you are playing catch up because the majority of clubs will have really strong pre-seasons, everyone is peaking, in top physical condition, and the competition is very strong. Everyone will get stronger and we want to do the same thing. It starts today. It's time for the hard work.

"It's about gritting your teeth, doing the hard work, turning up every day with a smile on your face and then being better every single day, walking out the building thinking 'I've gained something today, I'm in a better place than when I walked in'. That's tough at times. Because you walk in and you are tired, you are sore. But the job we do is a privileged job and there are a lot of people worse off in the world than we are so to come in, and train, and get in good physical condition is a dream job, it's the best job in the world.

"We've recruited well and we've got good balance and the boys who were here last year have become more experienced and everyone would have picked up knowledge from the year that we had. It's not just about the leadership group, everybody contributes, everyone has the right to a voice and everyone is valued. We are a team, that's us."

The one-club unity was highlighted by the interactions that Minchella has had with the younger players too today. In a concept brought in by head coach Willie Peters, those younger men have been grafting on jobs on top of their rugby, ranging from digging holes to painting.

Minchella said: "It's been staggered but we've seen a few people. I've seen some of the younger lads today, like Bill Leyland. I also saw Tom Davies and Lee Kershaw, just had a quick chat with them.

"I caught up with Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) in the off season, that was good. Obviously his reputation is very well known and I've got a lot of respect for him. I'm really looking forward to working with him and I think he's going to add loads to us. It'll be good get to know everyone as a person and then on the field as a player, and help everyone fit into our club and let them know what our club is about and what the standards are, and they will also contribute as well.

"Of course it's obviously disappointing to see people go but that's sport, people come and go and that's just how it is. But when new people walk through the door, it keeps people on their toes, it's that freshness, it's good. They are quality players as well. We are excited to go into battle with them. Pre-season, you build bonds and camaraderie."

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