“Given plenty of chances” – Adam Pearson breaks silence on Tex Hoy after Hull FC exit

A whirlwind week at Hull FC ended with chairman Adam Pearson taking to local radio to discuss the sacking of Tony Smith and the release of star players Tex Hoy and Nu Brown, with Pearson emphasising that full-back Hoy was “given plenty of chances”.

It was confirmed on Thursday that the club had sacked Tony Smith and that was followed by the release of both Hoy and Brown on Friday with the club releasing a short statement confirming the news.

It read: “Hull FC can confirm that Tex Hoy and Fa’amanu Brown have left the club with immediate effect.

“Brown, who was off contract at the end of the season, has requested to return home to be closer to family on compassionate grounds.

“Hoy has also left the club ahead of his contract expiring at the end of the current season.

“The club would like to wish both players well in their future careers.”

The release of both Tex Hoy and Nu Brown was something that Pearson was quizzed about when speaking live on BBC Radio Humberside last night with the chairman confirming that the release of Hoy and Brown wasn’t related to the sacking of Tony Smith, despite the close proximity in announcements.

He explained: “No, they’re different circumstances. I think Tex has been given plenty of chances and I don’t think he’s sort of fulfilled those chances to Tony. So that was in the pipeline. That’s been in the pipeline for a couple of weeks really.”

There was also further details revealed on why Nu Brown had left: “The Nu one has come just this week on mainly compassionate grounds his wife’s father is seriously ill. She’s gone back home, she went last week and after much persuasion from her I think he’s decided to join her and that is a big loss.

“I would say that the form of the team has also played a part in that, getting thumped every week, he won’t have enjoyed that too much but it is predominantly compassionate grounds that Nu has left us on.

“With Tex, I think it was just felt from a couple of weeks ago that it wasn’t quite working out, so we’ve taken the opportunity to release both.”

Why did Hull FC release Tex Hoy?

Suggestions that Tex Hoy could be on his way out of Hull FC began to emerge earlier in the week following his benching against Huddersfield Giants and rumours on social media after the full-back unfollowed the club.

Social media sleuths also noticed that Hoy’s father had commented on the club’s Instagram posts criticising Tony Smith and in defence of his son, something that Adam Pearson was aware of and acknowledged.

Pearson explained: “The actual spirit in the dressing room was very good. Tex’s father didn’t play a role in him leaving.

“There was just a situation where he wasn’t going to play in Tony’s team and therefore it was felt best if we could free him up for him to go back and to play in Australia and we could get a cap to get a new seven in and that would be a sensible course of action.

“Obviously, his father did weigh in on social media as any father is entitled to do when he thinks his boy’s been slighted.”

It’s now expected that Tex Hoy will return down under with no clubs in Super League currently having any available overseas quota spots, something that Craig Lingard referenced when asked if he had considered signing the Australian.

Lingard explained: “Well currently at the minute, we’ve got no quota space available anyway so that’s not one that we can seriously consider at the minute, even if we wanted to fully pursue it so we’d have to get rid of somebody in order for us to do that one.”

The Tigers do look like a prime landing spot for Hoy though should they be able to work a deal out with Castleford being among a lost of three possible destinations suggested earlier this week by Serious About Rugby League.