Hull FC boss sends message to departee after early release

Hull FC interim head coach Simon Grix is urging Joe Cator to put his best foot forward and nail down a deal for next season after leaving the Black and Whites earlier this week. Cator brought an end to his four-and-a-half year stint with his boyhood club on Wednesday as he took up the opportunity to pen a short-term deal with French club Toulouse Olympique.

Cator will be with Toulouse until the end of the season and he’ll be determined to impress enough to either secure a new deal there or elsewhere ahead of the 2025 campaign. It comes on the back of what has been a challenging season for the forward, with his game time being severely limited by injuries.

His last outing for Hull came in May with a back issue ruling him out since. But, he’s on the verge of a return to action and he’ll be keen to help Toulouse, who are second in the Championship, end the season on a positive note.

“It’ll be good for him,” Grix said ahead of this weekend’s clash with St Helens. “He’s probably forgot what it’s like to win. I’m not sure the last time Joe won wearing a Hull FC shirt, and Toulouse will win most of their games between now and the end of the season, so that’ll be a nice reminder to what it feels like. He just needs to go and play well, get on the field consistently, and see where it takes him.

“Of course, we wish him well. He’s gone to take up an opportunity that can give him the best chance of earning a deal for next season. In my time at the club, he’s been good. He trained well in pre-season and he just hasn’t going really with the injuries he’s had throughout the year.

“That’s off the back of a couple of really serious injuries prior to that so he’s had a tough go of it over the last few years. But speaking to him he’s in a good spot. He’s almost there playing wise and he’s ready to go have a crack somewhere else and put his best foot forward.

“Like a lot of people who are departing us or will depart, sometimes that’s just the way of it, and it’s time for change, and you move on. As I say, we wish him well.”