James Batchelor insists Hull KR are not bothered about being underdogs in Saturday’s Super League Grand Final in Manchester.
Hull KR will make their first ever appearance in a Grand Final on Saturday – facing 13-time finalists Wigan Warriors at Old Trafford.
Yet Batchelor has said his side are not fazed by the prospect of facing the six-time champions – despite being priced 2/1 outsiders with bookmakers.
“I don’t really buy into much of that sort of stuff,” said the 26-year-old.
“People will always look to put a label on you, but we’re just focusing on ourselves.
“We know what we’ve got and what we can do, so we’ll just worry about ourselves.”
Batchelor has been key in helping Hull KR’s 2nd spot finish this year, scoring four tries and operating as a stand-in captain whilst Elliot Minchella was banned last month.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe forward also played for Hull KR in their 17-16 golden point extra-time loss to Leigh in the Challenge Cup final last season.
He said: “We learned a bit from the game what sort of stuff you’ve got to do, as well as what it takes to win big games.
“Focusing on what we’ve done this year, where we are as a group now, and I think we’re a lot further ahead than we were then.”
Whilst Saturday will mark the Robin’s first ever Grand Final, James will be the second of his family to play in one.
His brother Joe, won two finals for St Helens in 2021 and 2022.
He said: “You know, we’re pretty close, but we keep that stuff separate as much as possible.
“Unless we ask for something, we tend to leave each other to it.”
Family will be at the forefront of his mind on Saturday, after his partner Ciara gave birth to their son Zak last month.
He said: “It’s been hard, it’s not a normal job where I can just take a couple of weeks off, especially with the position we’re in.
“My missus, she’s been amazing, she sort of understood the situation we were in with the last few weeks of the season.
“She’s been really good at understanding that I can’t do all the night feeds that she’d want me to do, she’s been really, really accommodating.”
Batchelor scored a try in the Robins 10-8 semi-final victory against Warrington last weekend.
He said: “It was pretty special, you know, especially the atmosphere.
“I couldn’t say too much about it, I think the ‘dad strength’ just kicked in there.”
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