Hull FC chairman Adam Pearson explains appointment of ex-Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos boss Tony Smith

Everywhere Tony Smith has gone, he has revolutionised clubs.

From his early days at Huddersfield to becoming the catalyst for one of Super League’s all-time greatest teams at Leeds. From waking up the sleeping giant at Warrington winning trophies galore and making it to a first Grand Final to taking Hull KR off the bottom of the league and all the way to the Super League semi-finals, Tony Smith always leaves a club in a better place than where he found it.

Through this lens, Hull FC’s appointment of the Super League Grand Final winning coach makes absolute sense especially given Hull’s recent struggles and the fact Smith is always terrific at developing the culture at a club.

Nonetheless, it comes as a shock with Smith only recently leaving Hull KR which should make the first Hull derby of the season very tasty.

We will also see a family feud in 2023 as Smith takes on his nephew Rohan Smith’s Leeds Rhinos side.

So, a story filled appointment, but what was the thinking behind it from the club’s perspective?

Well Adam Pearson has explained the appointment this morning on the Hull FC website.

“We are pleased to welcome Tony to the club, a coach of undoubted calibre and experience with proven success in Super League,” Pearson said.

“We have identified areas we feel we need to improve within our first-team environment and we believe Tony is well suited for that challenge.

“We are confident he will compliment the hard working and passionate people already at our club that are determined to return Hull FC to the position we believe it should be, and to meet the standards expected by our supporters and stakeholders.

“Tony is excited about the opportunity and the long-term vision we have for the club, we’re looking forward to getting to work with him.”

The mention of ‘first-team environment’ is certainly an interesting one but somewhere Tony Smith always excels developing a winning culture at every club he has been at, thus we should see a different beast from Hull FC in 2023 especially given the quality they already have and the quality that’s due to arrive.

New signing Liam Sutcliffe scored a hat-trick in last night’s play-off match in a positive indicator of what’s to come next year at the MKM Stadium.