Fullback: Motu Tony
After lifting the cup with Hull in 2005, Tony played on the wing in their major final appearance against St Helens in the Grand Final the following year, eventually finishing his career at Wakefield. Tony is now back at Hull, working as the club’s Football Manager!
Wing: Nathan Blacklock
After being forced into retirement due to a chronic knee injury in 2006, Blacklock headed home to Australia – and as recently as last year, he was helping coach the Tingha Tigers side in New South Wales.
Centre: Kirk Yeaman
A Hull FC legend without doubt, Yeaman is the only member of that Hull 17 from the triumph in Cardiff to still be playing for the club – have not left in over a decade. He will almost certainly play again in a major final for Hull this weekend against Warrington at Wembley.
Centre: Richard Whiting
Like Yeaman, Whiting had remained a permanent fixture at Hull going into 2016 – but the versatile veteran made the switch to Leigh Centurions this year, ending an association with FC lasting over a decade. He is rumoured to be linking up with Toronto Wolfpack next season in League 1.
Wing: Gareth Raynor
The former Great Britain winger would continue playing right through to 2013, when he eventually hung the boots up after a stint with London Skolars.
Stand-off: Richard Horne
Like several of the 2005 Hull heroes, Horne played out the remainder of his career with the Black and Whites, eventually hanging up the boots in 2014. Now? Horne remains at Hull, and is a vital part of Lee Radford’s coaching staff as they aim for glory again this year.
Scrum-half: Danny Brough
Brough would go on and produce even better form later in his career than the stuff which helped Hull lift the cup in 2014. Still playing to this day at Huddersfield, Brough is a multiple Albert Goldthorpe Medal winner, as well as a recipient of the Man of Steel award.
Prop: Ewan Dowes
Another Hull FC icon, Dowes eventually left FC in 2011 to finish his career in the lower leagues, having stints with Dewsbury and later Workington before hanging up the boots. Now, according to his own Twitter account, Dowes is a Financial Planner.
Hooker: Richard Swain
The man who last lifted the cup above his head as captain of a Hull FC cup-winning side eventually retired in 2007, but he still comes back to Hull occasionally: and did so last year as part of an event concerning Gareth Ellis’ Testimonial programme.
Prop: Garreth Carvell
The ex-Great Britain prop produced arguably the form of his career at Hull before enjoying similar success at Warrington in the years after his departure from Hull in 2008. He would then return to Hull after a short stint at Bradford before finishing at Castleford and Featherstone. Carvell now has a role at Salford, working in their off-field department team.
Second row: Shayne McMenemy
McMenemy returned home to Australia in 2008 after earlier spells with Oldham and Halifax in this country. He would play for WA Reds that year but now, his own LinkedIn page says he works as a Business Development Manager back in Sydney.
Second row: Stephen Kearney
Kearney eventually returned to the NRL – where he worked as an assistant at Brisbane as well as taking up the head coach role with New Zealand: a job he still has to this day, having been in charge during last year’s tour of England and subsequent Test series defeat.
Loose-forward: Paul Cooke
The man who played such a crucial role in Hull winning the cup eventually switched across the city to Hull KR in a high-profile 2007 move, before then going on and playing with Wakefield. Cooke took up the coaching job at Doncaster and was a success, before moving to rugby union for a short while before taking up the role he has now in Leigh Centurions’ coaching staff.
Subs: Paul King – would eventually finish playing with York in 2012 after leaving Hull in 2009; Jamie Thackray – is still playing to this day, with Championship side London; Tommy Saxton – another still playing in 2016 – he had been playing for York this year; Chris Chester – took up the coaching role at Hull KR before landing the Wakefield job earlier this year.
