Super League in Vegas: Neil Hudgell urges Hull KR to stay humble as they gamble on the game's biggest stage

After watching their team go down to Wigan Warriors in the 2024 Grand Final, KR's loyal supporters must have wondered whether the club's long trophy drought would ever end.

Willie Peters' side were trading blows with the heavyweights of Super League but could not land the knockout blow.

Now, after clearing that mental hurdle to claim all four titles in a nine-month period that may never be topped, Rovers take to the Las Vegas stage as undisputed champions.

A club fighting for a place on the map not so long ago, Hull KR now find themselves at the centre of the rugby league universe.

Their journey from near-extinction – featuring Championship stays and a Super League wooden spoon – to the world's best team is a story for the ages.

Ahead of the sport's flagship event on American soil, where the Robins will command attention like never before, longstanding owner Neil Hudgell is guarding the club against any sense of complacency.

The next target for the ambitious Robins is to create a dynasty – by staying true to the values that brought them here.

"I want us to remain humble and hardworking in everything that we do," said Hudgell, fresh from watching Rovers beat Brisbane Broncos in last Thursday's World Club Challenge.

"We're not suddenly the be-all and end-all, and the answer to everything. There are clubs that have done this year in, year out. We need to be respectful of that.

"The next step for us is to try to emulate that, which will be the most difficult part of it.

"For me, the journey started with the idea of making our community proud of us. That was always measured against the best Hull KR team of the '80s. We'd always fallen short – until now.

"To become world club champions in front of 25,000 people in our home city and to go to Vegas carrying that label is something very special."

Hull KR's opponents in Sin City are eight-time Super League champions Leeds Rhinos, a club that have dwarfed their Yorkshire rivals for much of the summer era.

But the Rhinos find themselves on the margins this week. As if KR's recent success wasn't enough, it was they that gave up a home game to make the stateside fixture happen.

Such is the appeal of the Vegas event that the Robins were willing to sacrifice revenue for a share of the biggest stage.

"It's the profile and uniqueness of it," said Hudgell. "Everyone wants to play in Vegas.

"It's not a financial decision because it's a gamble in that respect – you're self-funding it and losing a home game.

"Our fans have been behind us in doing that and are travelling in numbers. They can't afford it, really, but find a way to do it to support their team.

"It's nice for them and nice for us. It'll be an incredible experience for everyone involved.

"I'd like to say it'll be a celebration of winning the World Club Challenge but it won't. First thing on Friday morning, Willie was pushing hard about being ready to play the game and get two points.

"I don't think he's over the York defeat yet, even after Thursday. He's incredible – he never stops."

That mindset has driven Rovers to a level of success rarely achieved so quickly.

For a man who has lived through the good times and bad at his beloved club, watching the Robins run out in Vegas as quadruple winners will be a pinch-me moment – but perspective is always close at hand.

"It's a bit different from the Bash at Blackpool," said Hudgell with a smile.

"But there's something unique about every rugby league ground or occasion.

"It's like Cas Lock Lane, who we hosted in the Challenge Cup. They're as important to the game as we are.

"Every event captures what the sport is about. This is just one end of the spectrum."

The thousands of KR fans descending on Vegas this week have never had it so good.

The past year has been the stuff of dreams for supporters young and old.

Hudgell has encouraged the fans – once long-suffering, now in dreamland – to cherish every moment.

"My message to my grandchildren on the pitch at the end of the World Club Challenge was that it's not always like this," said Hudgell. "There are ups and there are downs.

"My message to the fans, particularly the ones my age who have been around a long time, is that we've had some fallow years and some incredibly difficult times where we were nearly made extinct. We've got to enjoy it because who knows how long these things last.

"Enjoy the moment and enjoy walking around Vegas with that badge on your chest."