Hull FC begin pre-season training on Monday.
Hull FC begin pre-season training this Monday morning. Putting in the hard yards at the University of Hull, the available members of the first-team squad will all regroup and go again for three months of hard work before the 2026 season begins.
In total, they will have around 12 weeks of training, with a Christmas break set to be included, before competitive action gets underway again. The new season, as first reported by Hull Live sister title All Out Rugby League, will start with Challenge Cup action on the weekend of February 6-7 before the Super League competition commences the following week, starting on Thursday, 12 February. The fixtures are out on November 27.
But the groundwork for all that begins on Monday, with all fit members of the squad expected to report for training. And on that front, pre-season will look different from 12 months ago, when just about the full squad was in from week one.
This time round, Hull still have players in rehab after season-ending injuries or players recovering from off-season surgeries. That will see a few absent faces. For instance, Hull Live understands the likes of Liam Knight won’t be in from week one as he finishes his recovery from a broken ankle. However, he will be in training towards the end of the month.
The same reality applies for some of Hull’s other injured stars, while the likes of John Asiata, Herman Ese’ese, and Roman Dawson have been at the club throughout the off-season as they get on with their respective rehabs.
Opening up on the process ahead, assistant coach Simon Grix, who will lead a lot of the coaching with fellow assistant Andy Last still on England duty, told Hull Live: “It’s a bit of a staggered one this year. Last year, everyone was in pretty much from the off. This year will be a little bit different. We’ll have a young group to start. But Monday is the baby stage, really, getting the boys moving and getting some core skills into them.
“The players have had off-season programmes to come back in good shape, but they haven’t been touching and passing the ball as they would in training. It’s just a reintroducing period for us, getting used to that ball again, and making sure we start on a good footing.”
Confirming a lot of testing will await Hull’s players early on as they build into the next three months, Grix continued: “The first stage of pre-season, there’s a lot of testing going on so we can get a basis of what everyone is like and what shape they come back in, and from there it’s about making sure that you don’t move too fast into flogging blokes.
“It’s a process getting your body ready to train at that level again, but there will be a lot of testing and a lot of familiarity work to get them moving again and get them ready for the tough stages that will come.”
One of Hull’s big areas of focus this pre-season is injury prevention. The club hired the grass pitch at the Roy West Centre – next door to the University of Hull training base – during the summer months, while internally they have also put an emphasis on the latest sports science, techniques, and equipment to give themselves the best shot this winter.
The likes of head of performance Tom Bennett will play a key role, with physio Andy Shea also hard at work. Jon Clarke will continue his consultant role in the strength and conditioning department, with a solid plan put together by all staff.
“There are all these things attached to science and strength and conditioning, and our staff are very diligent in the things that we can control,” Grix added. “We’ve added a bit to our training, both equipment and the way that we go about certain things.
“We want to try to control what we can. Obviously, we do play a very difficult game and wear and tear on your body over time does get you. Unfortunately for us, the injuries crept up this year, but hopefully everyone is ready to go come round one, and with all the interventions that the staff have put into place, it will help recovery in particular to get us ahead.”