The Hull FC veteran on the club’s rebuild, new goals, desire for success, and squad improvements.
There are not many better people to judge Hull FC’s rebuild than Tom Briscoe. The outside back was the first recruit made by now CEO Richie Myler, signing an original 18-month deal back in April 2024. Of course, that deal has now been extended into the 2026 season, and the difference for the now 35-year-old is staggering.
When he joined, Hull were at their lowest ebb. They had just sacked their then coach, Tony Smith, and were beginning a huge rebuild of both their on- and off-field operations. That culminated with key personnel changes at all levels, and none more so than at the very top, with Andrew Thirkill and David Hood purchasing the club.
It’s fair to say change then at Hull has been astronomical, but for Briscoe, it’s all been for the better, with the club going in the right direction again. Finishing seventh in the Super League last season, they acknowledge improvement, reconnecting with fans and restoring pride, but now there is a desire to kick on and get to the next level.
That’s a desire, an obsession, if you will, that Briscoe shares. The long-time winger or now centre, has won it all in his career, and with confidence and mindset strong again, he wants to taste success with the club he debuted with back in 2008.
“It’s night and day,” Briscoe, speaking to Hull Live, said on Hull’s rebuild. “Coming in when I did was really tough and the club were probably in their lowest position. They had sacked the coach, the club was changing hands, and everything was up in the air with the squad getting changed mid-season; players were leaving, and to look back over the last 18 months or so, it’s been a real success and a real positive for us, not just on the field, but off the field too.
“There’s been a lot going on, but on the back of the previous year, just to be competitive again, feel like a team and go into games knowing that we’ve got a chance – it’s always a massive energy boost for players.
“You can’t put a value on it, really, to be in the right headspace going into games and wanting to do your best and wanting to win. I think that’s the biggest thing that has changed: the confidence around the place and the feeling around it.”
After a year where Hull have set their foundation, the goal now is to improve again. To do that, eight new recruits have been made with the squad, adding depth and competition, two buzzwords that are hoped to get the side to where they desire to be.
“It’s a step forward again,” Briscoe said on recent recruitment. “The club is going through a bit of a rebuild since Andrew took over, and on the back of a step forward last year, hopefully, again, with the players we’ve brought in, it’s another chance to take another step forward and keep improving the club and the team.
“The immediate goal for us is to keep progressing on the field and to keep challenging teams. I suppose, going into the back end of the year, making the top six and pushing our way into that and having a good challenge in the play-offs would be progress again.
“We’ll be looking to do just that. We’ll take it a game at a time and see where we end up, but the aim would be to challenge for those big games and really push for them over the next couple of years.”
For Briscoe, there’s added incentive. After all, Hull remains the only club he hasn’t won something at, but it wasn’t through the lack of trying, with the winger part of two Challenge Cup final defeats with the Black and Whites in 2008 and 2013.
Contracted for another year at least with a club option to call on, the goal is to go one further and taste the glory he saw at both Leeds and Leigh.
“It would be a dream, really, to win something at this club,” Briscoe said. “When I first started here, I lost two Challenge Cup finals and what I’ve gone on to achieve and what I’ve won, to be at the club again where I started and where I’ve not won anything, that bites a bit, but I suppose that’s drive I can use to really push on and be involved in this team and this club.
“The two losses were hard at the time. They couldn’t have been two more opposite games. The first one against St Helens, Richard Horne, came back, and it was the time when it came out about his illness and everything, and the Wigan one, we could still have been playing and still not scored, but that was another tough game.
“They are experiences that have stayed with me and ones that have driven me on to want to succeed more. I’m thankful and grateful that I got the opportunity to get back to playing in those games and win them. I also watched when Hull won in 2016 and 2017, and I really cheered the club on. To be involved in that would be amazing.”
Entering his 19th season as a professional, Briscoe is still feeling strong and ready to do his bit. A valuable member of the squad in 2025, he featured at both centre and wing, crossing for his 100th Hull FC try in the summer – with his enthusiasm the same now as way back when.
“It’s crazy,” he said when reminded of his incoming 19th year. “I’m starting to feel old now being around the squad. It’s a very young squad and there are a lot of young players coming through, which is great. You look at Davy (Litten), Harvey (Barron), and Lewis (Martin) – they all really challenged for places last year, on the back of a tough year, and it’s good to see.
“But that competition is what drives you to be better. That’s what all the top teams have. You don’t want a team that are laid back and thinking they’re just going to get in. You need to be pushing every week.
“It’s a long year and it’s hard to stay at the top without that competition, both in and around training, and if injuries or whatever play out throughout the season. We’ve certainly got that competition going into next season. We’re hoping it will be a good one.”