Rugby League fans on social media have turned into amateur detectives which has seen the topic of Tex Hoy and his status at Hull FC become a hot topic.
Hoy signed for Hull FC before the 2023 season, joining alongside fellow Newcastle Knights’ playmaker Jake Clifford who found plenty of success and has since returned to the NRL.
As for Hoy, he remains at the club but isn’t the guaranteed starter that most overseas full-backs are within Super League and he was even hauled off at the weekend in FC’s defeat to Huddersfield.
There seems to be some rhetoric among fans of rival clubs specifically that Hoy has been a terrible signing for the club but it’s often forgotten how electric he was in his first few games in England, earning Super League Player of the Month honours for February 2023.
Part of that came from his hold claim that FC wouldn’t “lose a derby while I’m here”, something that was proved incredibly wrong when Hull KR defeated their rivals 40-0 on Good Friday just a few months later.
In 2024, Hoy has found himself out of the team on occasion this season and was subbed at the weekend, something that Tony Smith confirmed wasn’t injury-related but instead tactical.
Smith explained: “They’re both (Hoy and Jayden Okunbor) struggling for consistent form.”
Hull FC star on his way out?
Credit: Imago Images
Since then it has been uncovered by social media sleuths that Hoy has unfollowed the club on his Instagram account, whilst his X profile appears to have been stripped bare with just a blank profile showing.
Moreover, in since-deleted comments, his father was seen to be commenting negatively about the club and coach Tony Smith on the team’s official social media.
One comment read: “Let’s see how many of the off-contract players re-sign if the out of date, no structure, no systems bloke playing mind games with players, the club and media is still there.”
Another said: “No structure, no systems, chopping and changing, playing mind games, good way to coach a team.”
The combination of his father’s comments and Hoy unfollowing the club have led to speculation that his time on Humberside is over and that he could well part ways mid-season just like former players Josh Reynolds and Kane Evans did.
Some of that speculation on social media comes from FC fans who have even claimed that Hoy “deserves better” than their “shambles of a club”.
I feel for tex hoy, said it before I’ll say it again. He deserves better then our shambles of a club
— Adam Start (@AdamStart_) April 8, 2024
If Tex Hoy has played his last game it’s a massive waste of potential imo. The kid gets a lot of unfair but just think from his point of view about how he’s been treated.
His debut against Cas was 🔥🔥🔥
The club is absolutely toxic from the very top ⚫️⚪️⚫️⚪️— KL (@kris_hullfc) April 8, 2024
It’s perhaps a huge leap for fans to make and a case of adding two plus two and getting six, but there certainly are issues at Hull FC, whether they be related to Tex Hoy or not.
The club boast the worst discipline record in Super League with seven yellow cards and three red cards already shown in just seven games, whilst they’ve also committed the most penalties with 57.
Three of the last four games have seen them concede 50+ points and that means they’ve shipped a whopping 36 tries in those four games.
The club will have the week off after having been knocked out of the Challenge Cup but Tony Smith has promised that there will be extra reps for certain players who haven’t been hitting the form expected.
If Tex Hoy has played his last game it’s a massive waste of potential imo. The kid gets a lot of unfair but just think from his point of view about how he’s been treated.
His debut against Cas was 🔥🔥🔥
The club is absolutely toxic from the very top ⚫️⚪️⚫️⚪️— KL (@kris_hullfc) April 8, 2024
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