Hull KR's Jack Broadbent reveals Robins boss Willie Peters' Amsterdam fears

Most players would fear their coach finding out what they got up to on an Amsterdam trip - but took his with him.

The Rovers centre spent the weekend with boss Willie Peters as they flew out to the Dutch capital to spread the rugby league word. are taking a pre-season game against York on the road in the 2025 RugbyLeague.com Amsterdam Challenge. Ahead of the January 25 showdown, which takes place at NRCA Stadium and is part of the Robins’ bid to explore new overseas expansion pathways, they undertook a media tour to whip up interest.

England Knights ace Broadbent told Mirror Sport: “I first saw the message about a trip to Amsterdam which looked great. And then I realised it was a full weekend with just me and my coach! But it was really good. It was the first time I’d ever been. And Willie, too.

“It’s a really nice city. We had some great food, did plenty of sightseeing and everywhere we turned it was something new. It was a packed weekend but definitely the best promo I’ve been asked to do! I can’t knock that.”

Will Broadbent, 24, now be accused of being a teacher’s pet from his Rovers team-mates? He admitted: “A couple of them will probably say something like that. I’ve not had too much backlash yet - but maybe that will come when I get back in for pre-season training later this month! We’ll see.”

And ex-Leeds utility back Broadbent learned something new about Aussie Peters. He said: “I now know he’s scared of heights. We visited A’DAM Lookout. It’s got panoramic views of the whole of Amsterdam and has Europe’s highest swing. It’s a pretty cool attraction but he was pretty nervous on that swing. That’s when he told me he didn’t like heights!

“But we also went to watch the Netherlands v Chile rugby union game at NRCA Stadium. It was a decent crowd and pretty lively. If we could take the rugby league market over there, there could be loads of opportunities.”

There’s more than 100 rugby clubs in Holland and Hull KR Foundation has worked with Netherlands National Rugby League to assist them with their goal of becoming World Cup-accredited. Meanwhile, Broadbent is still pinching himself after featuring in last month’s Grand Final. He only left struggling Castleford in April but went on to score seven tries in 14 games for the Robins as they marched to Old Trafford.

He said: “It’s something I can't imagine: moving clubs and getting yourself in a Grand Final team. If someone told me that at the start of year I’d have snapped their arm off. We didn’t get the result against Wigan but we want to go one step further in 2025.”