Hull KR CEO lifts lid on club’s ‘ruthless’ transformation and passionate Neil Hudgell pledge

This is part two of Love Rugby League’s exclusive interview with Hull KR CEO Paul Lakin. Part one, which covers the scale of the job Lakin inherited when he arrived in late-2020 and the changes the club have made off the field, can be read here.

It is perhaps no great secret that Paul Lakin and Tony Smith weren’t ever going to last the course together.

There was no great ill-feeling whatsoever, but it was clear that after the early progression the club had made since Lakin returned to Craven Park, a change would always happen at one stage.

That moment arrived in the summer of 2022 and while there was a holdover period until the new man arrived at the beginning of next season, Lakin knew exactly what – and who – he was looking for from his next head coach.

“I was looking for a coach that was as ambitious as me but had that hard-nosed nature about them in terms of making tough decisions,” Lakin tells Love Rugby League.

“I knew from being here in the past we could be accused of being ‘little old Hull KR’, making decisions based on emotion and not business. Even internally, we’d agree to keep a player on for a year or even two more than we should have because he was a good lad, or he was a popular lad.

“I wanted us to be far more ruthless with things like that.”

Lakin is absolutely certain about what the biggest turning point on this journey was: getting Willie Peters’ signature over the line and convincing him to become their head coach.

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“Without any doubt – the most important moment of it all,” Lakin insists.

“He’s dedicated the job and his traits are spoken about a lot but what can sometimes be missed is that he’s a bloody good coach. First and foremost, he is an outstanding coach. He has changed the culture of this club immeasurably.

“This club have been on the big stage for two years now and he has changed the perception of what Hull KR are about as a club. This is what we expect now.”

Keen observers in the evolution of Rovers‘ squad throughout the last four seasons will have also noticed something many other clubs avoid: mid-season turnover.

A prime example of that is Jack Broadbent, who will likely feature at Old Trafford on Saturday evening after spending the early part of 2024 playing at the wrong end of Super League with Castleford Tigers.

Lakin insists those decisions are not by accident: they are by choice. “It’s a mentality you see in football a lot, teams often rotate their squad midway through the year,” he says.

“But not so much in rugby league. Why? I wanted us to be more ruthless, and more fluid. Willie is of a similar mindset to be, so that has helped us move the squad forward quicker than you could have expected.”

Some of those big, ‘hard-nosed’ decisions Lakin refers to involve farewelling some of the players that were integral in starting this transformation. Men like Lachlan Coote, Kane Linnett and Shaun Kenny-Dowall: some of whom could have feasibly played on, but Rovers effectively made that decision for them.

“Their time was up with us on the playing field, but it’s about dealing with it right,” Lakin said of the trio. “They are great blokes but we want to achieve honours and you have to be a bit hard-nosed about it. It’s been done in the most respectful way possible. We’ve looked after Kane and Lachlan, and Shaun is now a great coach for us.”

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And that ruthlessness, coupled with Peters’ undoubted coaching ability, has taken the Robins to the brink of history. There could be as many as 20,000 Rovers fans at Old Trafford on Saturday evening, with their exploits in recent seasons galvanising an entire community.

But there is one man Lakin has at the forefront of his mind this week: the club’s long-time – and you could argue long-suffering – owner Neil Hudgell.

Hudgell has invested millions of his own money into Rovers since he took charge, and had almost nothing to show for it in terms of tangible success. That could all change this weekend and for Lakin, whose relationship with Hudgell spans 20 years, it is a moment of significance not lost on him.

“If we can go on and do it then it will be one of my proudest moments in life – because of Neil,” Lakin says. “He is a top, top bloke. To win a trophy and see him lift it.. that would be the best achievement I think I’ve had in my career without question.

“There have been so many things that have hurt him badly. He came close to walking away. The Million Pound Game really, really hurt him. The Challenge Cup defeat in 2015 (to Leeds Rhinos) hurt him badly too.

“But he’s always told me we’d get it right. If we can do it on Saturday for him and his family, I would be so proud.”

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