Tony Smith reveals when he was approached for the Hull FC job

New Hull FC boss Tony Smith has outlined his vision of taking Hull FC into the top four in Super League, something the Airlie Birds haven’t managed since 2017.

Smith joins from cross-city rivals Hull KR and before achieving top four he’ll have to focus on placing the Black and Whites above the Robins, who secured the bragging rights and the higher finish by running out 36-4 victors in the final game of the season during the 2022 campaign.

That victory with just a 16-man squad meant the Robins finished one place and two points ahead of FC, despite having had to sack Smith midway through the year after a spell of one win in eight.

With Smith now taking on this new job he certainly has an idea of the people of the city of Hull and their passion for the game, and that was something he was keen to highlight when speaking to Betfred’s Youtube Channel.

“There’s a real strong desire for Hull to be up there as one of the big four. People from the outside probably expect that, certainly people from the inside would like that”.

Detailing the switch from red and white to black and white Smith explained: “I’m a professional coach, so opportunity arose. I was out of work, from Hull KR. It’s the first time I’ve ever finished early, finished the season early, meaning sacked so that in itself was something different for me to handle

“Adam (Pearson) approached me at the back end of the year, last game of the year and asked me would I have any interest and I bit his hand off”.

Hull FC have made a whole host of signings for 2023 with two key additions arriving from Newcastle Knights in the form of full-back Tex Hoy and half-back Jake Clifford, whilst that spine with also be strengthened by Jake Trueman and the versatile Brad Dwyer who will provide excellent back-up across a number of positions including 9 and 13.

Smith also highlighted the size of Hull FC and the huge support that the club have, something we could see on Sunday with the club expected to provide a large attendance figure for their opener against Castleford Tigers.

“It’s a huge club in terms of support. There’s a lot of desire there, there’s a lot of people who want it to be successful.

“The best way to explain it is if you walk down a street, if you drive down a street, if you jump on a bike you won’t have to go far until you see someone wearing black and white, seriously. It’s a well-supported club”.