Hull FC star Tex Hoy was surprisingly left out against the London Broncos last week.
Hoy is one of Hull FC’s best players but with Jack Walker at fullback, Tony Smith elected to start Morgan Smith and Fa’amanu Brown in the halves with young Jack Charles on the bench.
After the game, Smith explained the decision.
Speaking to the press after the match, Tony Smith said on the club’s website: “Just team selection, and just, combinations and… yeah, it was just and opportunity for somebody else to show what they can do in the half-back position. It’s probably not Tex’s preferred position, in the half-back position, and Jack [Charles] has been doing alright at fullback.
“That was a week where we thought we’d have a look at the other half-back combinations.
“Morgan [Smith] stayed at the left side, that he was very good at last week, and then Nu [Brown] came out to the right side, Danny Houghton came back in.”
Hoy was selected to play as stand-off against Warrington Wolves, but his side were defeated 36-10.
Smith also mentioned that he saw the current situation as a chance to give some younger names a chance: “[It was] an opportunity for Jack Charles to come in and have a crack, who can cover at fullback and half-back. We saw it as an opportunity for one of our young and up and coming stars to have a crack.
“There’s competition for places, that’s a good thing. You’ve got to be on your game, on everything, in order to be selected.”
Hull FC boss responds to Tex Hoy rumours
Despite this very clear explanation by Tony Smith, there were some pretty wild rumours on social media coming up with crazy and unsubstantiated reasons for Hoy’s absence even including punishment for liking a negative post on X about Smith.
The Hull FC boss emphatically shut these suggestions down when asked about them this week. He said: “What are the conspiracy theories I’m missing out on then? He’s definitely not been sacked. He wasn’t selected last week but he will be there or thereabouts again this week.”
He would then joke about the social media post itself: “It [the post on X] must have been from one of my big supporters then! It wasn’t my wife was it?”
