Hull KR's James Batchelor reveals brotherly ambition ahead of Super League Grand Final

Combative forward, 26, looking forward to his first Super League title decider against Wigan

Hull KR’S James Batchelor could easily ask big brother for some Old Trafford advice - but he’s out to do his own thing.

Like the Robins, the combative second-row makes his maiden Grand Final appearance on Saturday. Joe Batchelor has already been there and done it twice winning Super League with St Helens in 2021 and 2022. But his younger sibling insisted: “We’ve not really spoken about the weekend.

“He asked me about tickets and, being a tight Yorkshireman, tried getting some free ones. But we’ve not spoken too much. We don’t tend to do too much like that. We message each other before every game saying ‘good luck’ but we like to get away from the game when we do chat.”

However, Batchelor’s down-time has been kept to a minimum of late. He said: “I try to watch Huddersfield [Town] and enjoy that but I’ve not been enjoying that the last couple of years. My partner is pretty good at getting my mind off rugby. “She helps me shut down from it all and switch off. We’ve recently had a son as well so that’s keeping me pretty busy. Zak’s four weeks old now so he’s taking a fair bit of my time.”

On becoming a father for the first time, England Knights star Batchelor, 26, added: “I don’t think anyone is ever ready for it or knows what to expect. No one can prepare you for what the sleep’s like. But my partner has been pretty good with that given it’s this point of the year. She’s been taking a lot of the night feeds so she’ll be a lot more tired than me and won’t be happy if I say I’m tired!”

Vice-captain Batchelor’s appetite for work has helped underpin Rovers’ impressive rise as they bid to win their first major trophy since 1985. In contrast, mighty Wigan are seeking their fourth this season alone. But KR beat them at Craven Park earlier this year. And they came close to repeating that in last month’s reverse fixture before two yellow cards proved costly in what amounted to a shoot-out for the League Leaders’ Shield.

A losing Challenge Cup finalist last year in his first season after joining from hometown Wakefield, Batchelor said: “It’s going to be good. It’ll be a big occasion. I can’t wait. Hopefully we get the win. It’d be great for KR. I’ve not been here too long but the club and people of east Hull take you in straight away and make you feel their passion.

"I know what it means to them. You can see how much it meant just to get here with the reaction after the semi-final. But we’re not happy just getting here. We want to finish the job.”

Meanwhile, do the brothers have any intention of playing together before they hang their boots up? Joe, who turns 30 later this month, is under contract at St Helens until the end of next season while James is contracted until the end of 2026 at Craven Park.

He said: "It’d be nice. It’s probably been close without it ever being that close. It was about to happen a few times at different points in our career. It’s never happened so far but it’s something we would like to do. "But obviously I’m really happy at KR and love it here so it’s not something we’re trying to work out to do. If it happens it happens and it will be nice but that’s something that will have to happen organically."