Ryan Hall reflects that he has ‘been involved in a few fairytales’ ahead of what could be the greatest of them all at Old Trafford on Saturday night.
In 2015, Hall was part of the Leeds Rhinos side who clinched a domestic Treble to give the perfect send-off to Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai. Two years later, he helped the Rhinos win the Grand Final again and made it a happy ending for two other club legends, Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire.
But even those dream moments do not compare to the Cinderella story Hall is helping to write at Hull Kingston Rovers.
When the winger moved to Craven Park ahead of the 2021 campaign, Hull KR had just finished bottom of Super League. Now, the rejuvenated Robins are 80 minutes away from claiming their first trophy in 39 years and becoming only the fifth club to win a Grand Final after Wigan, St Helens, Leeds and Bradford. Oh, and the Old Trafford showdown against defending champions Wigan also happens to be Hall’s last game for KR before he re-joins the Rhinos.
‘The best movies tend to be sport because you just can’t write these scripts,’ the 36-year-old tells Mail Sport. ‘If we get the job done, it will be a fantastic story given where the club has been and what they’ve been through.
Ryan Hall is gearing up for what could be the greatest fairytale of them all on Saturday night
‘It will also be very memorable for me. I’ve been at Hull KR for four years and for it to end at Old Trafford, that’s really pleasing. But while I have seen plenty of fairytales happen, I’ve also seen them not happen, so I am not going to read too much into that. It is a standalone game — Hull KR against Wigan.’
While this will be the Robins’ first Grand Final appearance, it will be Hall’s seventh. His record reads: played six, won six. ‘Shhhh… I’ve been trying to get people not to say that because I don’t want to jinx it!’ he says with a smile.
‘My record is irrelevant. I don’t want to be telling everyone all the time about what it used to be like when I played there before. Yes, I’ve got experiences, but it’s all about creating a new story for this year. It would be nice to see a new name on the trophy. For the good of the sport, it does need someone new to come through.’
Hall would be forgiven if he thought his Grand Final days were over when he signed for the lowly club on the east side of Kingston-upon-Hull. He was enticed there by his former Leeds boss Tony Smith and old mate McGuire, having endured two injury-hit years in the NRL with Sydney Roosters after 11 successful years with the Rhinos.
‘I knew this was possible, but did I think it was probable? Probably not,’ admits Hall. ‘If I said I knew we’d end up in this position, I wouldn’t be telling the truth. I knew it was a pretty big task.’
Rovers, whose owner Neil Hudgell is a lawyer acting for sub-postmasters implicated in the Post Office scandal, reached the play-off semi-finals in Hall’s first season in 2021. But they have been transformed in the last two years under Australian Willie Peters, who led them to fourth in the table last year — when they again lost in the play-off semis — and then second this term.
The secret to their success? ‘Just a bit of hard work,’ says Hall. ‘We’ve always been a good attacking team, but not so good in defence. Willie identified that and has been very defence orientated. If you look at past records and who wins things, it’s normally the best defensive teams.’
Following last week’s 10-8 play-off semi-final win over Warrington, Hall criticised Peters for his ‘positive’ half-time team talk, saying in his post-match interview: ‘We fell in love with ourselves in the changing room and I’m not happy with that.’
Hall’s rejuvenated Robins are 80 minutes away from claiming their first trophy in 39 years
Hall, though, insists his relationship with the boss has not been harmed heading into the Grand Final. ‘He knows what I am like,’ says Hall. ‘When he got the job and was ringing round the players introducing himself, I told him then, ‘Don’t start giving me any praise because it doesn’t work. Even if you think I’ve been great, tell me something to work on because that’s when you’ll get the best reaction from me’.’
Hall, though, has been great. The greatest, in fact. In June, he broke the record for the most tries in Super League history, surpassing McGuire’s haul of 247. His tally now stands at 251, with his most famous try coming in 2015 when he clinched the League Leaders’ Shield for Leeds after the hooter against Huddersfield.
‘It’s just part of the job,’ says Hall, who is also England’s record try scorer with 39. ‘The product of playing in a good team is scoring tries on the wing. You see a lot of tries where all the winger has to do is catch it and put it down and I’ve done my fair share of them.
‘I’m still in a contest at the moment with (Leigh winger) Josh Charnley. He is very close to the record and he has a better strike rate than me, so I fully expect him to surpass me. It will be something that will be best to look back on when I retire.’
Hall’s record-breaking moment against Huddersfield came just days after the heartbreak of losing his great mate Burrow, who died from motor neurone disease aged 41. Hall fondly reminisces about the WhatsApp group he was in with Burrow and other former Rhinos players in which they communicated only in lines from The Office.
‘When he was going through his illness, he’d still write on the group and his messages would be exactly like they’d always been,’ says Hall. ‘He was a good man and an incredible athlete. His record on the field speaks for itself. He played a prominent part of finals I played in at Leeds. He’ll cross my mind on Saturday.’
The man of the match at the Grand Final will be presented with the Rob Burrow Award by the late scrum-half’s dad Geoff. It replaces the Harry Sunderland Trophy, which was won by Burrow in 2007 and 2011.
Wigan are the favourites to successfully defend their title and seal an historic Quadruple, as they look to become the first club to win the World Club Challenge, Challenge Cup, League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final in the same season. But Hall is expecting a close contest, after losing 24-20 against them last month.
‘We beat them the first time we played them this year, then they convincingly beat us in the Challenge Cup semi-final,’ adds Hall. ‘But the most recent game was an even contest.
‘Credit to Wigan to do what they have done, they have been exceptional. They go about things the right way and with great dignity. When I got the Super League try record, they sent me a personalised bottle of whisky.’
On Saturday night, though, Hall hopes to be cracking open the champagne.
