The centre had an up and down 2026 season

It's fair to say the 2026 Super League season did not go to plan for Oliver Gildart.

The centre started off the year well and his tries in the World Club Challenge and Challenge Cup were pivotal in the success Hull KR saw in the opening half of the campaign.

His performance in the Challenge Cup semi-final was particularly memorable, leading the Robins to another Wembley final and a sixth straight win at the time.

Such was his form that the centre could be heard talking about England and the aspirations he had to make Brian McDermott's England squad for the Rugby League World Cup this autumn. At the time that goal wasn't out of the question, especially as KR were building towards what appeared to be a stern defence of the three titles they won in 2025.

However, Rovers' season fell away after a Cup final in which they were thumped by Wigan and individuals began to falter.

Gildart was one of those who slipped and despite his best efforts he couldn't rediscover his form for the rest of the season, with the centre looking well short of his best through much of the summer.

He never lost his place in Willie Peters' side but the head coach commented publicly on one or two occasions about the centre's struggles while also pointing a number of others who had experienced the same sort of drop off.

As such, Gildart will rightly feel as though he has a point to prove in a KR shirt as he prepares himself for the start of a new era at Craven Park.

Pre-season gets underway in two and a half weeks' time and he has a new head coach to impress in Nathan Cayless who arrives in east Hull with a fresh pair of eyes and some new ideas.

Gildart also has fresh competition for places in Moala Graham-Taufa, who Cayless made his first signing as Rovers boss earlier this month.

Graham-Taufa can be expected to fill the Joe Burgess shaped hole on the wing, but he has spent much of his career at centre and might well be more suited to that role.

Jack Broadbent will be pushing to claim a starting spot in the side once more, too. KR's Mr. Versatile has been involved on a weekly basis over the last two seasons, but he was never included in Peters would consider his best XIII. He'll be keen to change that next season by forcing his way into Cayless' plans.

The Robins have Noah Booth coming through the ranks and looking for more game time, too, while the likes of Harvey Horne and Louix Gorman will be looking to pick up more minutes.

Gildart can expect those youngsters to nipping at his heels over pre-season so making the right impression on Cayless in training could well prove to be pivotal.

The former NRL man is the senior specialist centre in the squad and he'll earn a spot in Cayless' plans if he can show the new head coach that he can be a key man for him moving forward.