Hull Kingston Rovers are preparing for two big games against Wigan. After a slow start in Super League, the treble winners are climbing up the table and could go second if they beat Wigan at Craven Park on Thursday night. The teams meet again in the Challenge Cup ​final at Wembley next Saturday and Rovers seem to be peaking at the right time. They have been punching out peak performances in recent weeks, the latest a tough win at Leigh.

This is a golden era for the club. After reaching the Challenge Cup ​final and Super League semi-finals in 2023, they played in their first Grand Final in 2024, finally won the title last year and were crowned world club champions in February. Willie Peters’ squad are entering their fourth year together. He will leave in October to take over new NRL franchise PNG Chiefs and, even though most of the club’s important players will stay, it feels like their time is now.

“We’re aware that teams definitely have windows of opportunity,” says Rovers captain Elliot Minchella. “That comes with continuity as well. Look at the spine of our team: we’ve played together for a long time and, with those connections, sometimes you don’t have to say anything, you just know what they’re going to do. That comes through playing 150 games together. Those days don’t last for ever. In five years’ time, some might still be at the club, some will be in different places around the world. So we need to take advantage of it now.”

After winning nothing for a generation, Hull KR have been battling intensely with Wigan for the last few years. Between them they have been winners or runners-up 13 times in the last nine domestic competitions. “We’ll look back and have those memories for the rest of our lives,” says Minchella, whose great-grandfather came to Bradford from Frosinone near Naples.

“When you’ve been through that shared joy and you see that person again, you might just give them the nod or a look, but it runs so much deeper than that. In the Challenge Cup semi-final, there was a feeling in the warm-up. We saw that look in each other’s eyes. I remember looking at Jesse Sue and just thinking, ‘I know he’s on today’. A few of the boys did. You don’t have to say anything. That’s special. We had it last year too.”

When any club emerges from the shadows to threaten the establishment, there is always a doubt over how long it will last. Will they be like Leicester City or Manchester City? So, how do Hull KR build a dynasty rather than settling? “It probably starts with the very top from the owners then filters down,” says Minchella, now 30 and keen to add to his single England cap at this year’s World Cup.

“In years gone by, there would have been a big celebration about getting to Wembley. Well, you don’t win anything for getting there. You win at Wembley. That’s the mentality shift. Willie’s as driven as anyone. He’s moving on at the end of the year, but nothing’s changed. If anything, he’s dialled in even more. It’s such a high when you win and affects so many people. It becomes infectious, addictive. The message is: chase that feeling again. We’ve spoken about not wanting to be one-season wonders. It was unbelievable to do what we did last year, but it’s in the past. People have left, new people have come in, and we want to do it again as a new group.”

Last season’s extraordinary treble was built on a remarkably consistent team selection, with 16 players appearing in 28 or more of Rovers’ 34 games. That also caused a huge challenge. Rovers had only one weekend off all season – a fortnight before Old Trafford. That physical and mental toil can’t continue without risking injuries. Earlier this season, Peters revealed players already knew when he intended to give them a rest. Wigan have mastered that art, finishing in the top two 13 times in the last 16 years.

All of which makes Peters’ decision to go with a strong side against Wigan at Craven Park on Thursday night seem somewhat risky, especially given that Matty Peet is sending his reserves to East Yorkshire. Rovers’ creative heart –Mickey Lewis, Tyrone May and Jez Litten – are all down to play, but Minchella confirms they have been training with a variety of players in key roles.

“You’ve got to practise with different players, because anything could happen,” says Minchella, who is in the squad for the game. “Obviously, there’s not another Mikey Lewis around the corner, so if someone has to come in to do that job, they might have a different skill set. But we’ve got a framework and someone comes in and out of the framework. No matter who’s in those positions, it should look the same.”

A statuesque loose forward, Minchella’s own role differs depending on who is around him. He can combine his bullocking runs up the middle with delicious short off-loads or fling cut-out passes wide, the archetypal half-back spirit in a forward’s body, usually serving Lewis and May to bring others into play. “We’ve got a lot of strike all over the field, it’s not just reliant on Tyrone and Mikey. They’re unbelievable but teams naturally will try to shut those two down.”

Having recovered from early season stumbles, the Robins are rapidly acclimatising to having a target on their backs, and coping with losses of form. “We don’t get too low with a loss or too high with a win,” said former Bradford forward Minchella. “No one can perform nine or 10 out of 10 every single week. Someone’s going to have a dip and you’ve got to adapt on the run. The staff are good at recognising what’s going on and get messages on, but you’ve got to feel it yourself as well. If something’s not working, stop doing it and do something else. If you don’t, you’ll probably lose.

“Everybody wanted us to win for a period, but now everybody wants to stop us. Everyone wants to see the champions lose. You’ve got to embrace that because it’s not going to go away.”

The eloquent Minchella, who worked as a builder while at Sheffield Eagles, took the long way to the top. When he lifted the Challenge Cup last June, it was 10 years to the day since he kicked a winning field goal within sight of the Wembley arch. That was for mid-table Championship side London Broncos at The Hive, where he spent a season as a teenager having been sacked by Leeds for off-field misdemeanours seven games into his professional career.

Does he look up at the Wembley arch and think he has come a long way? “Do you know what? I do! I used to live in Finchley and when I see the road signs or the stops on the Tube, it does make you think ‘wow’. When I was down there I wouldn’t have believed I would get where I am now. It puts stuff into perspective. It’s pretty cool.”

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