Hull FC have made arguably one of the signings of the 2023 Super League season in playmaker Jake Clifford with the young Australian shining for the Black and Whites all season, however that has led to huge NRL attention.
It had been speculated earlier in the season that the left-footed playmakers’ form would warrant an immediate NRL return with former club North Queensland Cowboy’s interested.
That has now been confirmed this morning with the Cowboy’s tweeting that ‘Cliffo is coming home’ and releasing a statement on their website announcing his signature.
The club statement read:
“North Queensland Toyota Cowboys 2018 Rookie of the Year Jake Clifford has signed a one-year contract to return home in 2024.
“A proud North Queensland product and Tully Tigers junior, Clifford came through the Cowboys Academy system before graduating to the NYC in 2017 and was later that season named the competition’s Player of the Year.
“He made his NRL debut at five-eighth for the Cowboys in 2018 and played 42 games for the club before departing mid-way through the 2021 season.
“Clifford spent the remainder of 2021 and 2022 at the Knights, before moving to the UK Super League with Hull FC in 2023.
“The 25-year-old has been in scintillating form in England, scoring five tries and kicking 46 goals for a tally of 112 points in 19 games.”
Clifford still has an important role to play at Hull FC though with the side sitting four points outside of the playoffs, their earlier season seven game losing run hampering their current chances massively.
A clash with Wakefield Trinity on Friday night will be the first since the confirmation of this news and it will be interesting to see what reception Clifford gets, and even more interesting if Tony Smith’s side lose against a resurgent Trinity team who are fighting for their lives.
A loss would almost certainly crush any hopes of making the top six with FC needing to win two more games than any of their nearby rivals and with just seven games remaining of the season that likely means picking up five or even six wins.
If Clifford can return FC to the playoffs then he’ll leave Humberside as a hero, at least in one side of the city, but failing that he might just be remembered as someone who used Super League as a stop gap to rediscover form.
