To Hull and back: Hudgell revelling in the good times

Hero of Post Office scandal who has bankrolled his local club through the bad years is confident they can win treble

- Aaron Bower

Neil Hudgell has witnessed highs this summer that he and a generation of Hull KR supporters perhaps thought they would never get to experience, but even in these most euphoric of times the low moments are never far from the forefront of his mind.

There have been plenty of those during his 20 years as owner of his boyhood club. Flirtations with administration, relegation from Super League in the most dramatic circumstances in 2016 courtesy of an extra-time defeat by Salford and a 50-0 loss to Leeds in the 2015 Challenge Cup final that Hudgell ranks as his lowest ebb.

Hudgell considered selling the club several years ago, but reversed that decision and how it has paid off. The east Hull lad who grew up on the terraces of the old Craven Park watching the swashbuckling and pioneering Hull KR teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s is now overseeing the birth of a new great team - perhaps their greatest.

It has been some rise. Having not won a trophy for 40 years before the Challenge Cup this season, Rovers have now added a second in quick time with the League Leaders' Shield. Tomorrow at Old Trafford, they return to the Grand Final looking to complete the treble; not bad for a team who finished bottom of Super League as recently as 2020.