Coach Brett Hodgson is hoping Tevita Satae and Josh Bowden will recover from injury issues in time to prop up Hull’s bid to start the new campaign far better than they ended the last.
It’s been well documented that the Black and Whites lost nine of their last ten games to drop to a final position of eighth in Super League in the Australian’s first year at the helm.
Hodgson, whose side start their competitive schedule on Sunday, February 13 at Wakefield, where they crashed to a 44-12 defeat in their last game of last season, has reported an encouraging pre-season overall.
But Hull have suffered a setback with the revelation that Scott Taylor, who has been plagued by injuries over the last two years, faces at least two months out with a foot problem.
It relates to a ligament issue suffered last season and he explained: “I had a bit of pain and a scan showed two stress fractures there, in places that aren’t good to have them in, because the bones are very small.”
Meanwhile another of Hull’s frontrowers, newly-recruited Fiji international Kane Evans, must sit out the first three league games as he completes a ban carried over from an NRL outing for New Zealand Warriors.
The 29-year-old is trying to take the positives, saying: “When I came over, the boys were already a few weeks into training, so it gives me time to catch up on my fitness and see the competition.”
But it still limits the options for Hodgson, who has handed squad numbers eight and ten to Ligi Sao and Satae. As well as Bowden he has other prop options in Brad Fash, Jack Brown and teenager Aidan Burrell.
Hull head to Leeds for old boy Tom Briscoe’s testimonial on Sunday week, January 30. The winger left for the Rhinos in 2014.
Meanwhile, Hull have announced the appointment Pete Riding from Warrington Wolves to be their new Head of Youth.
Riding spent four years at Warrington, having previously held similar roles at Huddersfield, Wakefield and Castleford, and will now work alongside the club’s Head of Emerging Talent, Michael Shenton, on the Black and Whites’ youth programme.
“There is so much potential that lies within the programme; what the club is trying to do can become a blueprint for the sport. We have a chance to leave a legacy and ultimately that opportunity was too good to turn down,” said Riding.
Hull’s Centre of Excellence last week saw its first player earn a first-team contract through the Rising Stars programme, with fullback Davy Litten, 18, signing an initial three-year deal.
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