Craven Park has a new name as ambitious Hull KR look to build on last season’s exploits

He was speaking yesterday when announcing a significant deal with Sewell Group who will become the club’s stadium naming rights partner for at least the next two years.

Rovers’ ground will now be known as Sewell Group Craven Park after Hull College cut short their tenure, shifting their focus instead into more community-based projects and work with the East Yorkshire club.

Hull KR, of course, enjoyed a fine campaign last season, reaching the Betfred Super League semi-finals for the first time and falling just 80 minutes from Old Trafford.

It had been a genuine transformation having diced with relegation the year before but Lakin is keen to show it was no fluke.

They open their Betfred Super League season at home to Wigan Warriors on Friday, February 11 although their first friendly fixture is at Dewsbury Rams on Friday.

“We’re looking forward to the new season,” Lakin told The Yorkshire Post.

“We feel we have some real consistency and stability in the squad.

“Historically, over the last few years, we’ve had 12 in and 12 out but that hasn’t happened this time.

“A lot of our announcements were long-term signings to our core younger group and, as we saw last year, we feel we have an outstanding crop of experienced players.

“We have a really nice blend there.

“The addition of (St Helens full-back) Lachlan Coote attracted all the headlines but we also went into the Championship to bring in three players.

“So we’re very aware that we’re at the starting line with all the other clubs and we have to prove it all over again.

“We’d like to show a little bit more consistency but we start our first friendly at Dewsbury on Friday and are looking forward to our year.

“In terms of off-season, we feel it’s gone well and so in terms of morale and consistency it’s very good.”

One of the exciting prospects for the sport as a whole in 2022 is 10 Super League games being broadcast live on terrestrial television for the first time following the historic deal with Channel 4.

Lakin admitted: “That is fantastic. It really is. The sport has done really well to get Channel 4.

“I was involved with football when the EFL (English Football League) were looking to get additional coverage.

“And they ended up getting on a Sky channel called Quest.

“I remember at the time, we had to put out what the channel number was for it because nobody knew how to even find it.

“To actually get free-to-air rights on one of the established top five channels with Channel 4 is huge kudos to the sport.

“It will be able to spread the game and they’ll choose their 10 games wisely and it’s a huge fillip for the sport.”

Lakin is delighted to link up with Sewell Group, a multi-disciplined group of companies operating across the North of England but originating from East Hull.

“They are one of Hull’s biggest employers with an outstanding reputation, having been named in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to work for in the UK,” he said. “This partnership holds true to their East Hull roots whilst delivering brand exposure throughout the North of England where they have several offices, and we are very grateful to all the directors for their support.

“We also look forward to supporting and enhancing the work Sewell Group do in the local community, whilst providing a platform for their Sewell on the go brand within the stadium bowl to promote their 13 convenience stores across the region.”

They were also recently recognised as one of only 18 businesses across the country in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity – the most prestigious accolade for UK businesses.

Sewell Group chair Paul Sewell said: “We see this partnership as another great way of giving back to the community which we’ve been part of since 1876.

“We know the fantastic work Hull KR do in the local area to support and improve the health and wellbeing of the community, through the fantastic schemes they run.

“We’re delighted to be able to support this, and the club, in their journey on the eve of their 140th anniversary.

“The heart of our business strategy has always been to deliver value for the communities we serve, creating opportunities for people, supporting communities, charity groups and pioneering initiatives to support people who need it.

“This partnership will allow us to continue to do so, alongside the many other initiatives we support across the region.”

Meanwhile, second-row Frankie Halton, one of those Championship recruits signed from Featherstone Rovers, has torn a pectoral muscle in training and will be out of action for four weeks.