Hull FC - On The Beach

Ah, summer! Don't you love it? Those annual past times such as sunny days, warm and long evenings and days out on the beach. If you're from West Hull, you're probably getting quite used to watching a team that downs tools when the summer months hit and looks like it is on the beach rather than a rugby field.

Hull FC's annual collapse has started early this year! They have conceded 196 points in the last four weeks, including 60 points or more on two occasions and, last night, 46 points in a humiliating defeat to Castleford. 

The club has injuries, which do not help. But they have no more injuries than a club like Salford. The Red Devils may not win every game, but when you watch them, you see a side that gives its all to win. By contrast, Hull FC are a side who collapse at even the mildest sign of adversity. No excuse is too flimsy not to be clung to by this club.

Perhaps you could forgive it as a one off. Yet in 2021, Hull FC's season followed a very similar pattern. They were competing for a play off spot and suffered a disgraceful nine losses from a possible 10 to end the season. Crushing defeats away at Salford and Wakefield were particular lowlights.

In 2019, they lost seven of their last eight fixtures. In 2018, Hull FC lost their final 11 matches. 2022 looks to be heading the same way. Players come and go, coaches come and go but the pattern remains the same.

As the saying goes, a fish rots from the head. So let's start with the club's owner, the tempestuous hothead Adam Pearson. The man who impulsively sacked Lee Radford within minutes of a defeat at home to Warrington, in March 2020, announcing the decision on live television. Behaviour more akin to scripted wrestling than a professional sporting entity.

In the midst of some of the club's end of season collapses, Pearson has threatened to clear out the playing squad and then done nothing of the sort. He throws tantrums and undermines his own authority when he inevitably fails to back up his words with actions.

Hull FC is a side very much in his image. One that is unable to handle pressure. One that seeks easy answers. A side that talks a good game but goes missing when things gets tough.

The club's best player (and suspected love-child of Sky Sports pundit Jon Wells) is Jake Connor. His attacking ability is beyond question. He is talked about amongst the best players in Super League yet plays for a side that has reached the play offs once in four years (probably soon to be once in five years).

Why doesn't he play for an elite side in this competition then? Say a St Helens or Wigan? Perhaps it is because of his bouts of ill-discipline, predisposition for chaos and apparent focus on being a pantomime villain. The reason he isn't at a top club and the reason he hasn't won more silverware is because he doesn't have the temperament. He is a good player who should be a great player. He has the ability to play in title winning sides and contribute heavily to such success yet you feel his vast potential has not been fulfilled.

It's not just Connor though. Luke Gale and the recently departed Josh Reynolds also seemed to play up to a pantomime villain moniker rather than simply focus on their game. You cannot have a spine of a team like that and expect success.

Hull FC sacked Lee Radford to make a clean start. Andy Last did a solid job as a caretaker coach. He applied for the top job but was overlooked for Brett Hodgson. What does Hodgson have that Last didn't? As far as I can see, the answer is an Australian accent.

From the outside, Hodgson strikes the impression of a man who does not know how to get out of this mess. It transcends him. You hear a lot about 'culture' in Rugby League. Daryl Powell at Warrington speaks about how he is trying to impose a new culture. Matty Peet at Wigan is huge on standards. 

But what is Hull FC's culture? Only those inside the tent will know. Though we can draw conclusions from what we see on the field. There is no evidence to suggest that the club has a disciplined, driven, patient and meritocratic culture that top teams have.

What Hull FC do have is an extremely loyal, passionate and sizable fan base, led in a rudderless manner by a group of individuals who seem incapable of steering the club towards the top of Super League. These fans deserve more than what they get. They deserve better than a team that is only capable of being competent for half a season.

This blogpost is littered with the obvious problems at the club. What it doesn't contain is any answers. That's because there aren't any easy ones. What can be said is doing the same as you have always done will likely lead to the same outcome. And that is why Hull FC face another end of season collapse. Something has got to change.