I want to play the best I can and finish on a good foot, says KR star

MCILORUM SAVOURING THE BUILD-UP IN HIS FINAL SUPER LEAGUE SEASON

- By DAVID CRAVEN

In hindsight, it’s a daft question asking Michael Mcllorum if he's getting emotional as the clock ticks down on his storied playing career.

The veteran ex-England international smiled and said: “No, not really. I’m not a very emotional type.”

Having earned a reputation as being pound-for-pound one of the toughest players of his generation, it’s a typically blunt response.

But it doesn't mean the Hull KR hooker doesn’t want to go out on a high. Mcllorum’s innate competitiveness will ensure he gives himself and his league leaders every chance of that.

Since joining from Catalans in the off-season, the 37 year-old has helped bring leadership, experience and his trademark steely edge to a club who - having not won anything for four decades - now target three trophies in just five months.

With just six rounds remaining, if Rovers win Friday's titanic top-of-the-table tussle at Wigan on Friday, the League Leaders’ Shield’s as good as in the cabinet alongside the Challenge Cup lifted in June.

And it is fitting that McIlorum starts his last push at Wigan, the club where he started his career, playing almost 250 games and winning three Super League titles before his life-changing move to France in 2018. He admitted: “I'm just looking forward to playing there for one last time. And playing here [at Hull KR].