MICHAEL McILORUM played with a fractured ankle as he finished his career by helping Hull KR to Super League glory.

The retiring hooker hadn’t appeared since early August, after picking up the injury in training, but he started the Robins’ 24-6 triumph over his old club Wigan Warriors.

And Hull KR coach Willie Peters revealed after the game that the injury had not actually healed, such was McIlorum’s desperation for an Old Trafford swansong.

“He shouldn’t have played, he’s got a fractured ankle,” said Peters.

“His ankle didn’t heal. He went for scans and it was just going to be a matter of seeing how he could handle it.

“He trained last week but he was still sore. In his head, he was playing no matter what. He’s the toughest I’ve seen, to be able to handle it.”

McIlorum, who will now return to Catalans Dragons as an assistant coach, was one of two veterans bowing out in the Grand Final.

The other was Hull KR team-mate and three-time NRL winner Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who delivered an excellent display after being reprieved from a suspension in midweek.

“The big fella saved his best until last, no doubt about that,” hailed Peters.

“What he’s brought us, in and around the place, it’s hard to put a value on it. People don’t see that.

“They see Jared Waerea Hargreaves a few years ago running over people. He hasn’t done that as much this year because he’s 36, but what we brought him for was around his defence and his contact.

“After the Challenge Cup (win), he went straight back to it. He didn’t have a beer for a number of months, to keep himself prepared for that performance tonight.”