Hull FC must make 14 contract decisions as futures of key men move into focus

Hull FC have 14 players entering the final year of their current deals with the club as they turn their attention to the 2025 Super League season.

The Black and Whites have seen a raft of players leave the club over the calendar year, with their first-team squad undergoing a drastic transformation. The likes of Fa’amanu Brown, Tex Hoy, Franklin Pele and Jayden Okunbor were all released well before the end of their contracts last season, while Danny Houghton, Carlos Tuimavave, Liam Sutcliffe and Jake Trueman were among the most high profile players to leave at the end of the campaign.

As such, Hull have had to be busy when it comes to recruitment, with director of rugby Richie Myler bringing in nine new faces ahead of the arrival of head coach John Cartwright. The club have left themselves room for more additions, though, and they won’t hesitate to add to their squad if the right man emerges.

However, it won’t be long before Myler turns his attentions to the 14 players who are out of contract in just 12 months’ time, with decisions to be made one way or the other on some high profile individuals.

Ligi Sao is one of the most senior members of the squad and one of the longest serving now, too, given he has just come to the end of his fifth season at the MKM Stadium. The 32-year-old joined Hull in 2020 from New Zealand Warriors and while there has been talk that the club would be willing to move him on early, he remains a member of Cartwright’s first-team group.

Jordan Lane is another whose contract runs until the end of next season and given his form in 2024, the club will surely be keen to keep hold of the homegrown second-rower. Tom Briscoe only re-joined the club in April, but the 18-month contract he signed expires at the end of the 2025 season and given he turns 35 in March, the club will be monitoring him closely.

Jack Ashworth struggled with injuries last season, but he’s expected to be involved heavily this season as he pushes for a new deal, while homegrown players, Harvey Barron, Denive Balmforth, Zach Jebson, Nick Staveley, Matty Laidlaw and Cobie Wainhouse will all be striving to extend their stay with the club, too. The same can be said for Will Gardiner, who joined the Black and Whites in 2022.

If a Hull Live report is to be believed, though, it seems the club have already made decisions on the futures of Liam Tindall, Jack Walker and Morgan Smith. It is claimed that all three have been told that they are free to leave the club before the new season and won’t be part of Cartwright’s first-team squad.