Paul Cooke has given a honest and frank assessment on Hull FC’s 2026 season.
Hull FC have had a torrid 2026 season.
Paul Cooke has labelled Hull FC ‘a shambles’ and stated that players have ‘waved a white flag’ after dropping to 13th place in the Super League table – and says the buck stops with the people in senior roles at the club.
The Black and Whites were defeated 20-16 by York Knights last week, their 10th loss from their last 12 games, with Cooke blasting the season events that have ultimately seen another coach in John Cartwright moved on, players told they are surplus to requirements, a loan player in Denive Balmforth play a key role against his parent club, and most seriously, another year seemingly written off.
Speaking on All Out Rugby League’s Back Ten podcast, Cooke, a former player and Challenge Cup winner with Hull, pulled no punches in an honest and frank assessment.
“Listen, I love the club,” he said. “I love the clubs I played for. I have an affiliation with them, and I want nothing but for them to do well and be battling at the top of the table, but they’re a shambles.
“The best player for Hull FC last week played for York in Denive Balmforth. I don’t agree with letting loan players play against their parent club, as that’s what can happen. They lost the game by four points. He scored a try. It justifies belief.
“Jed Cartwright has also been moved on. By all accounts, he was due to play in the game. That’s chopping the coach’s legs off before you’ve got on to kick off. I don’t disagree with Jed leaving the club after his dad left the club in the acrimonious style that he did. He would back his father. There are talks of him not being fit enough to start games at the club but he started for St Helens.
“There are some serious, serious questions about the club and the players. We listened to Richie Myler speak earlier on in the season about the players having an opportunity to be good. Aidan Sezer is now going to be asked to move on. There were a couple of players that didn’t turn up to a voluntary session when everybody else did when all the news broke. It’s just a farce.
“You speak about the noises coming out: training facilities, injury lists, old players on big money not playing in games, the Cartwright situation, the CEO coming out doing an interview, the interim coach not being a head coach – he’s not good enough; he’s been thrown in at the deep end – the list is endless.
“But the buck stops with everybody that’s in a senior position at the club. That’s not the coach because he’s not in a senior position. It’s an interim position. So while the buck stops with him in terms of preparing the team, you’ve got blokes there who don’t want to be there because they know they’re going to be moved on at the end of the season.
“That’s a bit of professional pride. I don’t like that because we’ve all been at clubs where we know we’re going to be moved on and that shouldn’t affect your own personal performance and preparation to get out on the field and do the best for the club that you’re playing for and who are paying your wages. But that’s what is happening at the moment.
“Their performance last week… at 16-8 at half-time, they should go on and win the game. They’ve waved the white flag in the second half. The players have got a job on now. If they’re waving a white flag again, that’s another real shot at players being fraudulent and they’re not working hard enough. I don’t cop that.”
In a position they promised they’d never be in again, Hull are now preparing for a big overhaul ahead of the 2027 season, with incoming head coach Steve McNamara overseeing wholesale changes – something Cooke believes needs to happen.
“There needs to be a big overhaul at the club,” he continued. “And they’ve started that already. Scott Taylor has moved into a position; Andy Last is staying. Steve McNamara is going in. There’s backroom staff that are going to be moved on and others brought in. There’s movement at boardroom level. People have come in from Leeds (Sian Jones). Tony Sutton has come in from the RFL. But you can’t just move on 30 players.
“It doesn’t work like that and ultimately you’ve got to get the best out of the players you’ve got. Hull aren’t squeezing the best out of some of their players, even the players that have been brought in on big money. Arguably their best player this year that they brought in was the French centre Arthur Romano. It’s a huge job.”