Hull FC coach Andy Last has hit back at claims that the 2026 season has been a write off.
Hull FC celebrate Joe Batchelor’s try.(Image: Dave Lofthouse, Hull FC)
Andy Last has hit back at any claim that Hull FC’s 2026 season is mirroring the 2024 campaign – and has dismissed any notion of a write-off.
The Black and Whites have dropped to 13th place in the Super League table, with Last’s side losing to York Knights for the second time this year last Thursday night.
On a run of 10 defeats from their last dozen games, Hull’s results have worsened, albeit they have remained competitive – a notable improvement over the last 18 months.
But like 2024, they have also dismissed their coach, John Cartwright, with Last placed in interim charge until the end of the year before the new appointment comes in, Steve McNamara.
The end of the season will also see some decks cleared, like in 2024, with under-contract players moved on, with seemingly no genuine or thorough attempt to salvage the season after a season-ending injury to Will Pryce and the departure of Liam Knight back in February.
Instead, injury-hit Hull have limped on, with accusations they have ‘waved the white flag’ on the current campaign. However, Last believes the two seasons are still not comparable.
“It’s nothing like 2024,” the interim coach said when asked by Hull Live. “Results, maybe, but it’s nothing like 2024. We’ve got affluent owners. We’ve got very intelligent recruitment of staff members in the office. We’ve got lots of positive people coming on board next year in the back room team and I’m sure they’re really, really keen to come to this club.
“If it was like 2024, it’d have been a struggle to recruit those types of people, so there’s lots to look forward to at this club. I’m excited about what’s coming. It’s tough at the moment and I know there are people thinking, ‘Oh, we’ve thrown the towel in,’ but I certainly haven’t. And I know the playing group certainly haven’t.
“We’re going to be doing our absolute best to try and get something out of this end of the season. And I just want the supporters to stick by us and know that the messaging for me is to give your absolute best every week. And we’ll try and get some wins between now and the end of the season. And then next season, it’ll be better. But I don’t agree with any point that it’s like 2024.”
Hull, as reported by Hull Live, will bring Scott Taylor back to the club next season, with backroom staff appointments made in the physiotherapist and conditioning departments.
Asked if they are giving themselves the best chance to succeed, Last said: “Definitely. The club have assessed things and they have made some decisions to change certain aspects of our performance team and hopefully that’ll be of benefit and our results will be better next year, but we’ve still got some things to play for this year and there are nine games still to go and we want to try and win as many of those nine games as we possibly can.”
In a message to Hull FC’s fans, with frustration recently aired at the current situation, Last continued: “I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ll stick with us because supporters at this club have always stuck with us. We’ve had some really tough seasons and they’ve stuck by us, and this is just another moment in our journey and where we want to be.
“We’ve got aspirations to certainly do a lot better than we currently are. We’ve been going through a bit of a bad spell, but the supporters last week, 2000 fans coming to watch at York, and then on the back of that, we had the party at the pier on the Friday night. There were loads of supporters there and they were all very supportive, saying, ‘We know you’re doing it tough at the moment; just stick in there’ because that’s what Hull supporters do.
“They’re very passionate, and for a couple of hours after the game, if we lose, they’re angry about it, which I can understand because I’m angry as well, but they’ll be there in their numbers again and we’ve just got to start putting better performances in and getting better results.
“We owe it to them and we owe it to the badge and the big thing is the players owe it to themselves because they’re better than what they currently are. That’s been the messaging this week.”