Andrew Thirkill has given an honest reflection on just how far Hull FC fell in 2024.
Hull FC coach John Cartwright celebrates victory over Wigan with chairman Andrew Thirkill.(Image: SW PIX)
Hull FC finished seventh in Super League last year and restored their status as a Grade A club in the eyes of IMG, a process which makes them exempt from relegation.
But there was a time when co-owner Andrew Thirkill believed that Hull could be relegated, with the club limping their way through the 2024 season, winning just three games all year, and only avoiding that fate on points difference to London Broncos.
In fact, Thirkill believes that Hull, in one of their lowest ebbs, were a Championship club, and not even a top-end one. And that wasn’t the worst of it. There was even a fear that without the takeover, the club could have gone under, a reality CEO Richie Myler addressed it last year.
But now they’re on their way back up, with the possibility of relegation never deterring Thirkill and business partner David Hood from purchasing the club, with debts cleared and the Black and Whites rising again both on and off the field.
“The club was in a bigger situation than David and I ever envisaged, but we’ve dealt with it all,” Thirkill said. “We had to and I’m proud of that. We’ve paid everybody off, 100p in the pound, no messing around; everything has been dealt with and sorted out with the SMC and the kit providers, and the club are back on an even keel.
“That’s going on behind the scenes, but the important thing is to get the playing personnel improved, and that never stops. We’ve done that. Richie and John (Cartwright, head coach) have been amazing. We’ve got the full salary cap in place for 2026, which is remarkable. I’m delighted and proud of that and thank David for that as well. We’ve given Hull FC every chance to compete at the highest level.
“Last year when I look back, we were a Championship team that was playing in Super League. We had to restructure the club and playing personnel side from within Super League itself. There was a time when I thought the club might have got relegated, but I was still comfortable doing the transaction, because Hull is such a huge and proud rugby league club with all of that history and its fan base, and being in the Championship for a year, we’d have dealt with it like that and we’d have come back.
“It would never have stopped us from doing what we were doing, but we were a Championship club. I don’t even think we were a top Championship team to be fair, we’ll never know, as we were never went there, thank goodness, but we had to rebuild from within to become a Super League club again.”
Now almost one year on from the takeover, Thirkill’s passion stands tall. This is a co-owner in it for the long haul, and, by his own admission, ready for a stint that could last 10, or even 15, years.
“I’ve loved it – it’s been fantastic,” Thirkill said on his first season at Hull FC. “It’s been absolutely amazing. The club is a lot bigger than I thought, actually, but the fans are fabulous, and they’ve been so supportive. I called it a family and it is a family, a big family, where everyone is supportive of each other.
“To come seventh last year, I can’t thank John and his coaching team enough. He’s been amazing. He’s very humble, but he’s been phenomenal, and the work ethic he’s instilled within the club and the players has been fantastic.
“Last year was all about advancement, development, enhancement, making the club better, and dealing with all the off-field situations that had to be dealt with. It was an amazing first year, and to finish seventh was fantastic, but it wasn’t about last year. There’s a direction of travel here – we want to win every game and we want to start winning competitions, but you can’t go from where we were to at zero to number one in a year.”