Tony Smith reveals his thoughts after first match as Hull FC boss

Tony Smith left Hull KR mid-season in 2022 following a poor run of form but he made the switch across Hull to join as head coach of Hull FC and he had his first outing as their boss on Sunday.

Hull faced Sheffield in a historic triple-header with the wheelchair and women’s games preceding the men’s fixture at 3pm.

The Airlie Birds snuck a 22-20 victory over the Eagles which was the result of an impressive second-half which they won 10-0, having trailed 20-12 at half time.

Smith made comments to FC’s website about the game and what he took from it.

The veteran coach said: “It was never going to be about the result and I thought it was a good hit out for us – a chance to blow off the cobwebs.

“We knew there would be some stuff in the game that we need to fix, but you have to go through the pain of that process in pre-season.

“But I thought it was a good hit out for us in many ways and I thought we got better as the game went on. We controlled things and played the way we wanted to play, particularly at the speed we wanted to play at.”

FC have brought in plenty of signings and have even see a change at skipper with Carlos Tuimavave taking the armband for 2023.

The star signings though have both come from the NRL with Tex Hoy and Jake Clifford both signing from Newcastle Knights, and both impressed on debut.

“I thought they [Tex Hoy & Jake Clifford] showed some good signs considering that was their first run out in English conditions,” he said.

“Each of them showed how exciting they’re going to be for us. But more than anything, it was important for them to just play today.

“Many Australians come over and fail to rip it up immediately – I just thought the earlier I could give those two 40 minutes under their belts, under those circumstances, the better they will be for it.

“Brad [Dwyer] was good, as well. I thought he sped the game up. He came on and he was electric, so we didn’t learn anything more from that.

“He still gets me excited in the way he plays and I think most other people feel the same way.”