The only way is up.
Hull FC prop Harvie Hill.
Andy Last has insisted that Hull FC will be better next year. The Black and Whites’ season concluded on Friday night, with the side running out 18-12 winners away at Leeds Rhinos to round off another campaign.
However, while it ended on a high note, with the likes of Tom Briscoe retiring from the professional game as a winner, it didn’t mask the frustrations of a disappointing season, with Hull regressing and failing to build on what was an encouraging 2025 year.
That has seen the club, who finished 11th in the Super League table, seek some significant change, with a new head coach appointed in Steve McNamara and recruitment headlined by NRL icon Daly Cherry-Evans.
To date, seven new players have been confirmed, and more are in the pipeline, with new coaching and backroom additions also made as Hull look to kick on again. And Last, who will be an assistant coach to McNamara next year, believes they will do just that, through both confidence in what’s coming in and necessity.
“We will do better,” he said. “We have to, don’t we? We can’t be much worse. And we will be better. That’s a definite.
“I think the appointment of a new head coach in Steve that’s going to inject a whole new voice, a different type of positivity, and obviously new staff members coming in, and new players coming in, means there’s a real freshness about the group. I think they’ll really put this season to bed. We’ll learn a lot from the season but we can’t afford another season like this.
“But we were saying that two years ago and we’re sat here saying the same again now. There’s been some change, obviously, in personnel, and we will do better next year.
“We have regressed this year. We’re taking a step back. We haven’t continued that upward trajectory which we were on last year. So, yeah, it’s been disappointing and the biggest thing is it’s been so inconsistent, and that’s the challenge for us as a club. We’ve got to be more consistent, set off on a path, stick to that plan, and be more consistent in our performances week to week.”
And while Hull will look much different when they take to the field next year, they will also count on their ‘difference makers’ to deliver when it matters most and ensure that desired consistency, alongside a couple of rising talents.
Asked what’s pleased him most given the challenges, Last said: “I think in the face of a bit of adversity, which we all know about, we’ve been able to maintain a competitiveness and be competitive during the course of plenty of games.
“I just think if we could have had a little bit more quality, and we’ve spoken about this before, having John Asiata available to us and Will Pryce available to us, I think that could have been the difference between winning and losing. The big players make the difference and our difference makers, unfortunately, haven’t been available to us.
“Some other guys have stepped up. There have been some admirable performances and I think the emergence of Logan Moy has been great for us. I think Jake Arthur has really grown as a player for us. Joe Batchelor has been excellent. And young Harvie Hill, a young 22-year-old front rower, has been an ever-present for us, played big minutes, and really stepped up in his own individual development. He’s going to be a great asset for us moving forward. There have been some individuals in there that have done good.”