Friday night will be a unique occasion for former Hull FC forward Jordan Thompson.
Hull FC celebrate Jordan Thompson’s try against Wakefield back in 2016.(Image: SW PIX)
There will be a few familiar faces in the York Knights line-up that take on Hull FC come Friday night, with the likes of Liam Harris, Denive Balmforth, Josh Griffin, King Vuniyayawa, and Jordan Thompson all in the squad.
In fact, the latter – who played 116 games for Hull in two spells from 2014 to 2019 and was part of the Challenge Cup winning squads in 2016 and 2017 – is preparing for his first return to the MKM Stadium since leaving the club, with – by his own account – some of his best years coming in his time in the black and white.
But Thompson is expecting no favours from his former club this week, with a firm Hull response expected after a humbling defeat at Wigan Warriors last week.
“It’s going to be a weird one going back,” Thompson said in York’s pre-match press conference. “I’ve got no bad blood with them, and I spent some quality years at Hull, probably some of my best, some might say, and I do say so myself, to be fair.
“It will be a weird one; even in 2021 with Leigh, I don’t think I played there so it’s my first time going back since leaving.
“We’re expecting a response from them. The outcome of the Wigan game – you can’t read too much into it, as they’ll come up against us as a totally different animal.
“They’re a club wanting to achieve greatness. They’re a big club and they don’t accept those kinds of performances. We’re preparing to take on the best Hull FC side. They’ll be stinging. Just like we are. We’ve got to be on our game.”
York, who defeated Hull KR on Super League’s opening night but met their match at Leeds last week, also come up against one of their former players this week in Connor Bailey.
“He’s a quality player,” Thompson said. “He always digs deep and he always turns up. He won’t go away. I’m sure he’ll be trying to put that extra yard in against an old team. You always do. He’s a quality player and he’ll keep coming. I’m looking forward to going up against him.”
Meanwhile, Thompson, a crowd favourite in his time at Hull, played his 200th Super League and 404th career game against Leeds last week. It was a nice milestone – and he even got over for a try too.
“It’s always nice to score but I always say this and without sounding like a big bore, I’d swap it for a win,” the now 34-year-old explained. “But it is nice to get over. All the boys have been into me, saying they didn’t know I was that fast.”
And as for York’s chances at Hull, Thompson has put the key to any victory down to belief, with the Knights looking for a first win over Hull since 1977.
“We don’t want to stop that belief that we’ve got,” the forward added. “We’ve built a really good energy around the place and it’s just keeping that positivity up.
“The defeat last week hurt and stung but we need to have the belief that we can put it right. It’s about staying positive and not dwelling too much. We’ve got another chance now to put it right.”