Hull FC make key addition as John Cartwright’s staff comes together

Hull FC have announced the return of Andy Last as an assistant coach for the 2025 Super League season. Last has spent the majority of his career in the sport with the Black and Whites and he will be returning to his hometown club in the off-season.

Last has spent the last year working under Steve McNamara at Catalans Dragons, but he has been allowed to return to East Yorkshire in order to become a member of John Cartwright’s coaching staff. He becomes the second appointment made by Cartwright, with Andy Shea becoming the club’s new head physiotherapist and Hull have confirmed that more additions will be made in due course.

The 43-year-old, who made 29 senior appearances for Hull before being forced into early retirement, joined Hull’s coaching team for the first time in 2005. Last spent time working as an assistant under Richard Agar before taking on the role once more under Lee Radford in 2013.

As such, he played a key role in the success the club found under Radford and he took the reins on himself in 2020, following Radford’s departure. Last managed to take the club within 80 minutes of a Grand Final but was overlooked for the position permanently and at the end of that season he made the difficult decision to leave the club for the first time in his career.

He has since spent time at Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and Catalans, but he will return to his beloved Black and Whites in the off-season.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank Catalans for allowing me the chance to pursue this opportunity with Hull FC – I have loved my time in the South of France this season. But it’s great to be coming back to Hull – one of the big things for me is seeing that there is an opportunity to come back and help make a difference,” he told the club website.

“Another big draw for me is the quality of the youth programme at the club. The whole youth set up is in a really good place at Hull FC, and there are some exciting times ahead with some of the talent currently breaking into the first-team squad. And I have always felt that one of my key strengths during my first coaching spell at the club was coaching the youngsters.

“I’m really looking forward to linking up with John Cartwright for 2025. I’ve spoken to Lee Briers, who has worked with him at Brisbane, and also one of Hull’s former players, Mark Minichiello, who played under him at Gold Coast. Both came back and said what a great coach John is, so I’m looking forward to building my own experience and knowledge alongside him.

“I think one of the big reasons why John wanted to bring me in for 2025 was my knowledge of the club. I’m very, very passionate about Hull FC, its supporter base and the city as a whole. I’ve been at the club during some amazing times and also during some really tough times, so I have a real understanding of what the Hull supporters want an FC side to look like and play like.

Richie Myler, Hull FC’s director of rugby, added: “Throughout the many conversations we’ve had over the last few months, John has made it clear that he wants an assistant coach alongside him who knows the club from top to bottom, and Andy fits that job description perfectly.

“Not only is he one of the most highly regarded and respected assistant coaches in the game, even with a four year spell away from Hull, he knows this club like the back of his hand.

“His energy and passion for Hull FC will be an incredibly positive asset for us moving into 2025 and beyond, and we’re looking forward to him sharing the positive energy with a new-look squad next season – particularly with some bright local talent with whom we know he’ll be able to create really positive relationships with having come through the club’s junior ranks himself.”