Super League 2020 Preview - Hull FC

If there was an award for under-achievement in Super League in 2019 Hull FC would have been right up there with the main contenders. Perhaps only Leeds Rhinos could rival the black and whites in the field of failing to get the best out of the available resources. Yet unlike Leeds, who were dreadful from tape to tape in last year’s race, Lee Radford’s side taunted their fans with occasional promises of what might have been before limping to a rather apologetic sixth-placed finish. In the end only points difference denied the Airlie Birds a place in the end of season playoffs, but in all honesty that near miss only served to highlight the sense of a wasted opportunity that must have been felt by everyone connected with the club.

So is it going to be different in 2020? Their recruitment looks solid, especially the return of Mahe Fonua after two seasons in the NRL with Wests Tigers. Fonua was an integral part of FC’s back-to-back Challenge Cup successes of 2016 and 2017. He scored 31 tries in 58 appearances during his first spell on Humberside and looks set to add many more this time around. He joins a back-line brimming with talent in the shape of Bureta Fairamo, Carlos Tuimavave, Josh Griffin and the find of 2019, Fijian-born military man Ratu Naulago. It almost makes you feel sorry for Adam Swift who, tired of spending the last two years waiting for an opportunity at Saints since the emergence of Regan Grace, now finds himself in quite the queue for a shirt.

It isn’t just the backs where Radford has bolstered his ranks. Tongan international Manu M’au was a much sought after commodity when he left Parramatta Eels after six seasons and is expected to make a big impact in Super League. Tevita Satae is another Tongan forward making the journey to Hull from the NRL, though his experience with New Zealand Warriors is limited to just 15 appearances. Samoan utility forward Ligi Sao is another whom Radford hopes will add more steel and power to his pack. And if you want consistency - and let’s be honest Hull are desperate for it - how about Josh Jones? The former Saint is unspectacular but he was one of the most consistent performers in Salford’s epic run to the Grand Final in 2019. That experience and the fact that Jones was a Grand Final winner with his hometown club in 2014 could prove vital in transforming what had become a rather flaky culture over the last two seasons.

The pack has been in need of a bit of a facelift following a clutch of retirements after the 2019 season. The excellent Sika Manu has been joined in the boot-hanging department by Mark Minichiello and Mickey Paea. Chris Green was released while Levy Nzongzou, Joe Westerman and Danny Washbrook have all moved on. Centre Jack Logan has joined Doncaster in the other main piece of business as Radford sets about reshaping both the personnel and the personality of his team.

Despite these seemingly progressive recruitment moves Radford will still need to rely on the bulk of the squad who made such a dog’s dinner of the 2019 campaign. The destructive running of Albert Kelly will again be a key, as will the organisational and kicking skills of Marc Sneyd. Jake Connor is just about as talented a utility player as there is in Super League right now so maybe he can help take a load off the other two. The problem with Connor has always been that he can get you in to trouble as easily as he can get you out of it. Can a playoff contender really rely on a player who seems to stand or fall according to what mood he finds himself in on any particular morning?

Jamie Shaul has pace to burn at fullback but his propensity for an error is sometimes worth six points start to opponents. Danny Houghton will no doubt continue to do superhuman things at hooker (a league-leading 1259 tackles and only 70 misses while racking up the 6th highest total of runs from dummy half) and Scott Taylor can mix it with most Super League props along with Josh Bowden if the latter can steer clear of injury. But how many games are left in the 38-year-old legs of Gareth Ellis? He has already retired once and if the pack recruits don’t fire and Radford finds himself relying on Ellis too often we could once again see the KCom Stadium side fall short.

Hull must improve defensively if they are to fulfil their obvious potential. Only Hull KR, Catalans Dragons and London Broncos missed more tackles in the last campaign, while nobody managed fewer than FC’s 1414 marker tackles. Space at marker is ruthlessly exploited at Super League level and that translated last season into the concession of well over 750 points by Hull in their 29 games. Only two sides conceded more, one of whom was relegated and the other survived only on the last day of the season.

A faster start than last year would go some way to helping Hull out of their slumber. A narrow defeat in the opening night derby in 2019 was followed by a 26-18 reverse to Castleford. A quick glance at the final standings will show that loss proved ultimately fatal to their playoff hopes. It wasn’t until round three and Super League’s first ever golden point game in which FC edged out Wigan 23-22 that Radford’s side registered their first points on the table. In 2020 the black and whites will have to get out of the blocks much more rapidly. They open at Leeds before a round two derby date with Hull KR. In round three they welcome champions St Helens so it is imperative that they have points on the board before then. After Saints it’s a trip to Wigan before they host Catalans Dragons in round five. By then we should have some early indications of whether this team has managed to shake off the bad habits of 2019.

Those two cup wins in 2016 and 2017 are credit in the bank for Radford. Without them he could have come under considerable pressure at certain times last year. The Magic Weekend debacle, when FC went down 55-2 to Huddersfield Giants at Anfield is one, as was the 62-16 shellacking by Saints they had already taken three weeks before on Easter Monday. There’ll be no Easter double header to worry about this year but another campaign like the last one, with results and performances veering from the sublime to the ridiculous, could be the catalyst for the first coaching change at the KCom since 2013.

It’s a very big year for the black and whites. Time for everyone involved, coaches and players, to fulfil their promise.