Premier League: What to look out for as the curtain rises on the 2026 season

Hull KR enter the 2026 season following a campaign that saw them secure a clean sweep of the Challenge Cup, League Leaders Shield and Super League Grand Final.

That success shattered the glass ceiling as Willie Peters’ side roared their way into the Northern Hemisphere’s elite, becoming only the fifth team in Premiership history to win a grand final.

But will their dominance be tested? After all, Wigan entered last season having won a historic four trophies, but were unable to meet Hull KR and emerged empty-handed at the end of the season.

St Helens, Leeds and Lee Leopards have all recruited well as they look to dethrone the Robins, who also have a trip to Las Vegas to face the Rhinos and next week’s World Club Challenge against the National Rugby League’s Brisbane Broncos to compete with in a busy calendar in the early part of the season.

There has been some turnover in the Robins squad, with Jarryd Waerea-Hargreaves and Mickey McIllorum retiring after the October final, but the club has maintained the backbone of what has made it so successful in recent seasons.

KR striker Dean Hadley says magic midfielder Mickey Lewis has signed a massive five-year contract before the end of the 2025 season, and balancing the old with the new is crucial to inspiring future success.

“If you look at any successful team, whatever the sport, you will always find a core group of players and people, including the coaching staff,” he told BBC Radio Humberside.

“When you have a group where the majority come together, you build relationships and connections and get used to each other.

“On the back of that, it’s important to bring in some new additions and new energy. The players who have come in have been really good and have added to that, but most of us have been together now for two or three years and hopefully we can continue.”

Adding further excitement to the season is the fact that there is a World Cup at the end of it, with England’s best and brightest aiming to put themselves in the picture for a place in the squad that travels to Australia in October.

With Peters ‘keen’ to hold talks about an England manager’s role following the departure of Shaun Wayne, how many of his KR squad will be on board later this year?