LEAGUE EXPRESS previews Brett Hodgson’s second year at underachieving Hull FC.
THE DEPARTURES
A couple of Wembley heroes headline the list of departures from Hull FC in the off-season.
Marc Sneyd was the Lance Todd Trophy winner in the Challenge Cup successes of both 2016 and 2017 and has been a key architect for this Hull side since joining in 2015.
But the chance to return to his roots at Salford proved too great a temptation, and the halfback leaves East Yorkshire with his place in the club history books secure.
So too does Mahe Fonua, who has departed for a second time. His first two-year spell took in the double success under the Wembley arch, scoring three tries across the two finals.
The Tonga international returned to the club in 2020 after a couple of years at Wests Tigers but has now reunited with former Hull coach Lee Radford to become a Tiger again, this time of the Castleford variety.
Fellow outside back Bureta Faraimo has done the same thing in joining Radford at Castleford, after four years at the MKM Stadium, which produced no silverware but did bring 37 tries in 79 Super League appearances.
The other permanent departure has been that of Masi Matongo, the Zimbabwean forward who spent years on the fringes of the team without ever managing to become a regular feature. He’s now moved on to the Championship, with York.
Young centre Jude Ferreira will also spend the season in the second tier, having been loaned to London Broncos for the full campaign.
THE ARRIVALS
After making just one senior signing ahead of his first season as head coach, Brett Hodgson has been a little more active second time around with four new faces coming in.
The big-name arrival is Luke Gale, a direct replacement for Sneyd, who has done enough over two months or so of pre-season to be named as the new club captain.
He lost that role at Leeds after a fall-out with Richard Agar, which went a long way towards his eventual exit, and injury questions will always linger after some hugely unfortunate years, especially now Gale is 33 years old.
But if the former Man of Steel winner can reach anything near the level from his time at Castleford, he will undoubtedly be a major asset.
The other domestic arrival at Hull is Darnell McIntosh, a winger with a respectable scoring record in Super League of 43 tries in 92 appearances at Huddersfield.
As for the overseas pair of signings, prop Kane Evans brings experience, with the 30-year-old Fiji international having played 130 NRL games across spells with Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels and the side he joins Hull from, New Zealand Warriors.
Fellow Fiji star Joe Lovodua comes a little greener from South Sydney’s New South Wales Cup team, but the 23-year-old will want to be pushing for a place at hooker.
THE SPINE
Luke Gale should be an automatic pick at scrum-half and Hull’s success this season might depend on building an effective partnership with Josh Reynolds.
Big expectations on the Australian were not met in his first year at the club, making this season a crucial one, especially with young Ben McNamara emerging in that role.
Jake Connor was the leading figure for Hull last season, making the shortlist for the Man of Steel award, and having seemingly found his position at last as a fullback, he will be hoping to push on even further this year, although his hand injury suffered in last week’s pre-season clash against Leeds, will delay his return to action.
In the short term that will give Jamie Shaul, who was injured for much of last term, a chance to reclaim his favoured fullback sport. But in the long term a role in the outside backs is perhaps the only future for the man who held their number one jersey for so long.
At hooker, Danny Houghton may have lost the captaincy but he will surely remain a pivotal part of the side in his 16th season as a first-teamer.
With Joe Lovodua now providing support at nine, there is more pressure on Jordan Johnstone to perform if he is to maintain a place in the side.
THE PACK
Scott Taylor has missed much of the past two years through injury and will hope to put those troubles behind him to have a big influence at the front of the Hull pack again.
A lot of the work last season was taken up by the sizeable Pacific pair of Ligi Sao and Tevita Satae, with the latter named as the club’s Player of the Year for his efforts.
Another huge body has been added to the pack by the arrival of Kane Evans, who stands at a full two metres tall and matches Satae for size.
Brad Fash has been one of the few bright lights of Hull’s pre-season and he should now be coming into the best years of his career, while Josh Bowden and 21-year-old Jack Brown provide further front-row possibilities.
At the back of the pack, Andre Savelio and Manu Ma’u have jerseys eleven and twelve for the season ahead, and Jordan Lane has been promoted to the 13 shirt after a 2021 season which saw him emerge as an important cog in the team, while Joe Cator is another option in those positions.
THE THREEQUARTERS
Darnell McIntosh jumps straight into a starting jersey, following some high-profile departures in this area of the field, and he is likely to be first-choice for one of the wing spots along with Adam Swift, who has maintained an impressive try-scoring record throughout his career and scored a further 14 tries in 19 appearances last term.
The other senior wing option is Mitieli Vulikijapani, who only played six matches last year but showed some promise and has been retained.
At centre, Carlos Tuimavave and Josh Griffin have been a regular presence together for the past five years and will likely remain so again, with Cameron Scott in reserve.
THE YOUNGSTERS
Ben McNamara and Jack Brown have become regulars and another youngster, Connor Wynne, will hope to do the same, though he faces the inconvenience of having both Connor and Shaul ahead of him for the fullback berth.
Spine players Marcus Walker and Jacob Hookem, plus prop Aidan Burrell, all made a first appearance for the Black and Whites last season and will target further first-team minutes under Hodgson this time around.
A REALISTIC AIM FOR 2022
There is no denying that Hull have underwhelmed for several years now, with Hodgson unable to turn their fortunes around last season as a promising start turned into a finish of nine defeats in ten matches as his squad was hit hard by injuries and the Covid pandemic.
The play-offs remain the bare minimum target for a club of this size and ambition, but a big turnaround from last year will be needed.
Key to their chances of a top-six finish will be Luke Gale, and if they can keep him fit and get him back towards his best form, then they will have every chance of competing.
Squad numbers: 1 Jake Connor, 2 Adam Swift, 3 Carlos Tuimavave, 4 Josh Griffin, 5 Darnell McIntosh, 6 Josh Reynolds, 7 Luke Gale, 8 Ligi Sao, 9 Danny Houghton, 10 Tevita Satae, 11 Andre Savelio, 12 Manu Ma’u, 13 Jordan Lane, 14 Joe Lovodua, 15 Joe Cator, 16 Kane Evans, 17 Brad Fast, 19 Ben McNamara, 20 Jack Brown, 21 Jordan Johnstone, 22 Josh Bowden, 23 Connor Wynne, 24 Cameron Scott, 25 Mitieli Vulikijapani, 26 Marcus Walker, 27 Jacob Hookem, 28 Aiden Burrell, 29 Jamie Shaul, 30 Scott Taylor
Ins: Kane Evans (New Zealand Warriors), Luke Gale (Leeds Rhinos), Joe Lovodua (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Darnell McIntosh (Huddersfield Giants)
Outs: Bureta Faraimo (Castleford Tigers), Mahe Fonua (Castleford Tigers), Masi Matongo (York City Knights), Marc Sneyd (Salford Red Devils), Jude Ferreira (London Broncos – season loan)
Coaching team
Head Coach: Brett Hodgson
Assistant Coach: Kieron Purtill
Assistant Coach: Gareth Ellis
Head of High Performance: Paul Hatton
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Callum Christopherson
Sports Scientist: Tom Bennett
Player Welfare Manager: Iafeta Palea’aesina
Sports Therapist: Jordan Mounsey
Sports Physiotherapist: Chris John
Assistant Physiotherapist: Andrew Thompson
Video Analyst: Chris O’Connor
Head of Youth: Pete Riding
Head of Emerging Talent, & Reserves/Academy Head Coach: Michael Shenton
Club management
Chairman: Adam Pearson
Chief Executive: James Clark
Marketing & Communications Manager: Tom Gooch
Media Manager: Lewis Scott
Commercial Manager: Nick Derbyshire
Finance Director: Nigel Hansford
Finance Manager: Angela Molyneux
Retail & Ticketing Manager: Jade Hilton
Head of Hull FC Foundation: James Price
School Partnerships Manager: Sam French
Rugby League Development Manager: Lee Crooks
Lottery Manager: Serena Molyneux
Club Colours
Home Kit: Black jersey with white vee
Away Kit: White, slate blue, and pink
Betfred odds to win the Grand Final: 22/1
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