HULL KR winger Ryan Hall will return to his original club Leeds next year after spending four seasons in East Yorkshire.
And he claims that he can see some similarities between the current state of the Robins and the Rhinos back when he made his debut in 2007.
“When I first came on the scene at Leeds they had already won a Grand Final (in 2004) and I knew I was coming into a strong team,” said Hall.
“And I know now that I’m playing in a good team. I’m not going to start predicting where this team can go, because it always comes back to bite you. You might say something and then it never happens. So I don’t like predicting the future.
“But I do know that I’m playing in a very good team. So there are the similarities between the two teams that I’ve played in.”
The Leeds team from those days contained players like Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock, Rob Burrow, Danny McGuire and Hall himself who would become household names, with recognition well beyond the city of Leeds. The current Hull KR squad doesn’t yet have that degree of recognition.
“That’s only because it hasn’t happened yet,” said Hall.
“You can reel off those names from Leeds because they won so many Grand Finals. Ten years down the line these (Hull KR) names will be just the same if they have won multiple trophies.
“The same quality of player is now at Hull KR. The only reason some of the names here are not immediately recognisable is because we haven’t won any trophies yet, but hopefully we are going along the right lines to change that.”
From the start of his time with the Robins, Hall has been a fans’ favourite and he appreciates their support.
“The fans are fantastic. They liked me from the moment I turned up and as soon as I put the shirt on. I didn’t have to do anything.
“It makes the job a bit easier because I don’t have people putting me down all the time, although I don’t know what I’ve done to make people chant my name so much. I just get on with my job and do it to the best of my ability and it seems that the people in the stands appreciate that.
“It’s great playing in front of the east stand at Hull KR and hopefully when I return next year they’ll give me a nice warm welcome.”
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