Hull FC need to find a spark to salvage their season quickly.
Hull FC’s 2026 season is in danger of slipping away.
You can sum Hull FC’s performance at Bradford Bulls up in one moment. Davy Litten is on the ground getting treatment. Hull play on. They work the ball to their right edge and then kick back left on the last tackle to where Litten is laid. Naturally, the play comes to nothing.
It’s that same lack of attacking awareness, sharpness, planning, polish and execution that has been sorely lacking in Hull this year, who produced another inept performance with the ball on the way to another Super League defeat on Sunday afternoon.
In attack, they were largely sluggish and off the pace. There was no quality, urgency or zip about them; one Zak Hardaker kick to Joe Batchelor and one bit of desperation from Ligi Sao and Logan Moy to ensure that Litten scored late on, aside.
Other than that, Hull were lethargic with the ball, void of ideas, and generally so far off the pace it was perhaps surprising to see them still in the game with one minute to go. And even that final set brought with it frustration, with the same desperation seen for Litten’s try swapped for a nothing kick to no one and another game lost.
There’s no beating around the bush. Hull – one performance at Castleford aside – have had some severe attacking issues this year and the way they can fall out of shape so easily without John Asiata is a massive concern. That was evident again here, with Hull producing another stinker with the ball and their half-backs Jake Arthur and Aidan Sezer failing to stand up again.
Of course, those halves aren’t on their own. There were some big moments that went against Hull, for instance, Harvie Hill being bundled back over his own try line on the kick-off after a try, but the lack of ability to build pressure, particularly on the last tackle, falls on those halves. The playbook doesn’t seem to extend beyond the high kick play and hope for the best. Hull’s shapes aren’t fluent. They are slow and pedestrian. And it makes for a hard watch. That’s reality. Nothing less.
Yet despite those frustrations, there is some good in Hull. They are obviously a more robust and resilient team these days. They don’t crack when under the cosh and they can hold their line firm. They did that from the off at Odsal, absorbing pressure early on and repelling what Bradford threw at them. Defence isn’t the issue, with Hull at ease now with Super League’s quicker ruck speeds and getting a foothold in games. Again, it’s with the ball where the frustrations lie.
To an extent, it’s no surprise. The aforementioned loss of John Asiata is massive, and the season-ending blow to Will Pryce was genuinely devastating. It robbed Hull of their genuine X-factor talent, the one player who can take a game by the scruff of its neck and make things happen. Pryce’s loss, at the risk of sounding dramatic, has been astronomical.
That’s no slight on Logan Moy, who has come into the side and done well in his six games so far. He’s been solid, and he’s been busy with his carries and yardage, too, but Pryce is a player in terms of the Hull squad that is on another level. You could make a case for him playing at six with Moy holding his own at full-back if he were fit.
Then there’s the injury reality itself, with ten out for the Bradford game and as many as 16 possibly out for Leigh on Friday. It probably won’t be as dramatic as that come gameday, but until Davy Litten, Ligi Sao, and Lewis Martin are declared fit, that’s the reality. Brad Fash, Amir Bourouh, and Yusuf Aydin will drop out with Hull down to the bare bones and scraping together a team of young players and loan signings. And it’s only round 12.
That itself is a sad indictment of where Hull currently sit. Sure, it was going to take time to get this club competing for silverware again but 2026 was the season that was supposed to see them take another step in the right direction after a promising year in 2025. So far, it’s been anything but with the coach, John Cartwright, chopped and an interim, Andy Last, placed in charge with a depleted squad to work with.
It’s two steps back and the challenge now is to ensure the season doesn’t mirror 2024 – a mad statement itself when things looked so promising after Castleford just three games ago and with time still on their side to turn it all around but the injury situation is so desperate and brings with it that warning.
Hull are genuinely depleted, with several players out long-term and seemingly only Herman Ese’ese nearing a return, as confirmed by Last post-match. The harsh truth is injuries look set to derail Hull’s challenge again, with a significant proportion of the cap sat in the stands.
To an extent, you reap what you sow on that account, with some players signed despite known injury problems. They were brought to the club for many reasons, to bring leadership, enhance culture, etc, etc,. but ultimately the biggest one is to be on the pitch and help the team win games of rugby league. Unfortunately, there are too many on the sidelines too frequently.
As for mid-season recruitment, the club has failed to bring in anything other than Leeds Rhinos players on loan for 2026, something that has brought frustration externally and probably internally as well. Of course, recruitment is a difficult ball game and there are so many factors at play, but it’s something Hull, namely Richie Myler and Steve McNamara, have to get right next year, from who they sign, to club staff, and the surfaces they train on.
Until then, Hull, unless something drastically changes, are in danger of heading for a damp squib of a finish and after all the hope they had as an organisation to kick on this year, it’s a kick in the teeth, especially for the supporters, who continue to back them week in week out. Then again, it’s always been the hope that kills you.