HULL KR chief executive Paul Lakin has explained why the Robins have shifted their games to Friday nights permanently from 2023 onwards.
The Super League club has tried, in recent years, to spread games over the weekend, but with rising player welfare concerns, Lakin has explained why Friday night is best for everyone.
“I think it’s really difficult to please everyone, but we only played three Sundays all year last year,” Lakin said at last night’s RSG Fans Forum via the Hull KR website.
“Player welfare is one of the primary drivers for this change, to ensure our players are getting the seven-day turnaround between games that is there to ensure they’re at their best.
“A number of clubs across the North West are also opting for Friday nights. If we’d have decided to primarily opt for Sundays it would have made this seven-day turnaround difficult to achieve.
“The flipside to that is we have 300 more members than this time last year.”
Lakin was also keen to address just how much expansion the club has gone through in the past two years since he became chief executive.
“I think it’s fair to say that the club isn’t what it was two years ago,” Lakin continued.
“We’re much bigger, in terms of the investments we have made into the club. For the first-team for instance, we are operating at cap showing the standard.
“In terms of Academy, we have made investments in welfare and strength and conditioning. We have eight new roles across the club, Craig (Shepherd) as COO and bumping up the Commercial team.
“We now have 283 players across all playing levels. That is significantly higher than previous years.
“Perhaps the biggest investment alongside this is our decision to purchase the stadium and the surrounding area, which is a landmark moment for the club. We’re seeing these changes pay dividends in terms of how the team is getting on and the revenues around the club.”
Exciting news for Hull KR fans!
