Rugby league agent intrigued by Tony Smith and Jake Connor combination

If there is one player in Super League that gets people talking then it is Hull FC star Jake Connor.

An absolute maverick on his day, the fullback succeeded in bringing the most assists to the Super League party in 2022, yet there have still been question marks over his effectiveness at the MKM Stadium.

Most of that stems around Connor’s defence with the star himself admitting that it was the biggest thing he needed to work on.

However, Connor’s character has also been a point of contention in recent years with his nickname – Jake the Snake – epitomising his ability to rub people up the wrong way on the field.

That being said, leading rugby league agent Craig Harrison of Show Me The Money UK believes that Connor could clash with new Hull boss Tony Smith.

“It will be interesting because Tony likes different characters with good ethics,” Harrison said on The Full Eighty Minutes podcast.

“He certainly likes a certain type because Jake is probably the biggest character against what Tony believes.

“Imagine walking into the cap at Hull and their biggest cap space is going to be the biggest problem.

“His biggest cap space is Jake; Jake is going to be on massive money and he (Smith) will want that money.

“He might say ‘I want Jake’s 200 grand’ and for him to get paid out and move on with that money if they are not right with each other.

“They might prove me wrong, they’ve both been at Huddersfield, they’ve both been there.

“It might work but with Jake’s personality, it will be biggest challenge for Tony and the biggest one to take on and Brett (Hodgson) never worked it out.”

Smith himself talked to the press for the first time yesterday after making the cross-city move after his Hull KR departure.

The former Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves boss looked happy and excited as he continued to express he ‘has his mojo back’.

However, Smith joins Hull with none of his own players signing with him – Hodgson was the architect of Jake Trueman, Tex Hoy, Brad Dwyer and Liam Sutcliffe all signing on the dotted line.

It is a really interesting time to be a Black and Whites fan and it will be incredibly interesting to see how Smith does with his new side in 2023.