Written by Mike Carter, Hull KR Shirts.
This weekend, Super League celebrates its 30th birthday. Hull KR was fairly late to the SL party though, as they didn’t join the top table until 2007 after 11 seasons. The club did suffer relegation in 2016, but sealed an immediate return to the Super League for 2018, where they have remained ever since.
All told, Hull KR have taken part in 19 of the 31 Super League era seasons, which is around 61%. In that time, Hull KR have worn 49 different shirt designs in match action – and that is without including any mid-season sponsor changes or trips to France, meaning for me to pick out a top 5 would have been incredibly tough, so I have bottled it a little bit and will be creating two articles, a top 5 of home shirts and a top 5 of away/alternate shirts, to make it a little bit easier. Shirts manufactured by Carlotti, Kooga, Burrda Sport, FI-TA, X-Blades and OXEN will all be considered.
It is worth noting that this is just my opinion, and most people will disagree with what I think. Kit and shirt aesthetics are subjective, as are most things around appearance, beauty and practicality, so I’d love to know what yours would be, too!
Fifth place on this list is not to be snubbed at, as any shirts that make the cut would be graded by a score of at least 90 out of 100 on my ratio scale. I don’t allow a game, a memory or a performance to affect my feelings towards a kit, be that good or bad – everything here is based on appearance alone, even though I will be including a ‘Memorable Use’ for each kit that is mentioned to tie in with its use.
I’ve already taken a look at the away/alternate shirts (if you missed it, tap the link to catch up). Now lets take a look at what home shirts make my ‘Top 5 Hull KR Home Shirts of the Super League’ era…
5️⃣ – Home Fifth Place – 2008
Carlotti produced the club’s first red and white Super League home shirt in 2008. A robustly made shirt that featured a grandad-style collar and inner placket. A shirt that carried a lot of historical elements and included a modern inclusion of red piping across the shirt. It was quite heavy wearing, especially if it got wet, but still, that doesn’t take away from the aesthetics at all.
MEMORABLE USE: Hull KR 39-22 Wigan Warriors ~ A huge victory over the Warriors at Craven Park which saw scrum-half Michael Dobson score 4 tries and kick a drop goal against his former club.
4️⃣ – Home Fourth Place – 2012
2012 was some debut for Burrda Sport, both of the shirts that they manufactured have made it into my top 5 of the home and away/alternate categories. Both of the shirts were effectively the same design, too. Something we have seen in the past, but not since then. Another traditional white shirt with a red band, and another effective use of red piping as a detail – as you may be able to tell, I quite like it!
MEMORABLE USE: Hull KR 70 – 12 Castleford Tigers ~ Another 4 try display, this time for experienced winger David Hodgson with full-back Shannon McDonnell also crossing the white wash for a hat-trick. Michael Dobson also kicked 11 goals from 12 attempts.
3️⃣ – Home Third Place – 2015
I have always preferred Hull KR in predominantly red at home and I have made no secret about it, but I do feel we’ve messed about with the designs a little bit. However, that certainly wasn’t the case back in 2015 with this effort by FI-TA. This was the first time Hull KR had reverted to a red shirt with a blue band since our Super League debut season and it was a beauty. I mentioned at the start that successes and failures don’t affect my feelings towards the aesthetics of a shirt and this one is remembered for all the wrong reasons.
MEMORABLE USE: Hull KR 26-18 Warrington Wolves ~ A fantastic afternoon at Headingley for a Challenge Cup Semi-Final, which saw the Robins reach their first Challenge Cup Final since 1986. The Wembley show-piece was a step too far though, as Leeds would win the Cup after a 50-0 demolition job on Hull KR.
2️⃣ – Home Second Place – 2024
Now we’re cooking, the 2024 home shirt by OXEN is probably unlucky to not take the number one spot in all honesty. It is such a great shirt. My favourite feature(s) is the red sleeves and the dye-sublimated Robin Icons on them. It is such a clever use of the Icon to create something hyper effectively in a relatively low-key way – sensational stuff. I know I mention it a lot, but the sponsor integration is excellent and makes all the difference in its appearance.
MEMORABLE USE: Hull KR 10-8 Warrington Wolves ~ A first-ever Play-Off Semi-Final game at Craven Park saw the Robins defeat the Wolves to secure their maiden Grand Final appearance. First-half tries from James Batchelor and Joe Burgess were enough to secure victory in the closely fought contest.
1️⃣ – Home First Place – 2007
Taking the number one slot is the first-ever shirt we used in the Super League. Every shirt in my top 5 features a band, but only one of them features a turnover collar – the 2007 home shirt by Carlotti. This isn’t the be-all and end-all for me, however, on this shirt it’s the finishing touch that turns it from good to great. There is more piping present on this shirt, another feature which I like. It has symmetrical curves around the sides breaks the band and ends at the lower front seam. On this shirt the piping is white and it’s thicker in some places. Similar to the 2024 home shirt, the sponsor integration is fantastic and feels a little ahead of its time.
MEMORABLE USE: Hull KR 14-9 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats ~ The first of over 500 Super League matches for Hull KR ended dramatically, when Ben Cockayne’s try late in the piece secured the 2 points at Craven Park.
I was quite shocked with my picks that I had more white shirts than red in my top 5, but 2 of the top 3 are predominantly red, so I can accept that. They’ve all got merit in their own right and I have to mention how I found it much harder to pick 5 home shirts than it was 5 away/alternate shirts. Now it is your turn, have a think and see what would make your top 5 Super League era home shirts and let me know in the comments. You will find some inspiration here.
Up the Robins!
Hull KR Shirts 