{"id":961301,"date":"2026-05-15T10:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/961301\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:07:15","slug":"hull-fcs-retention-test-with-quota-call-to-make-and-recruitment-door-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/961301\/","title":{"rendered":"Hull FC’s retention test with quota call to make and recruitment door open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hull FC have retention calls to make and as far as recruitment goes, are in a position to ‘strike.’<\/p>\n

09:00, 15 May 2026Updated 09:39, 15 May 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Picture by Allan McKenzie\/SWpix.com – 22\/03\/2026 – Rugby League – Betfred Super League Round 5 – Hull FC v Leeds Rhinos – MKM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull, England – Ligi Sao celebrates.<\/p>\n

Andy Last has challenged Hull FC’s out-of-contract players<\/a> to force the club’s hand by playing well this year. The Black and Whites still have a handful of senior players out of contract, from Yusuf Aydin to Brad Fash, Tom Briscoe, and Ligo Sao.<\/p>\n

And Last, speaking to Hull Live, has laid the gauntlet out to those players, with consistency now key to getting a string of performances and results together and, in turn, earn a new deal.<\/p>\n

Hull have already had talks with Aydin regarding his future, with another Super League club also showing some interest. A big decision will also come on Sao, the only out-of-contract quota player of whom a call is still to be made.<\/p>\n

“He’s playing well, is Ligi,” Last said. “But I think the challenge for us as a team is we need to win games. We need to be consistently playing to a high level, and then it makes those decisions easier.<\/p>\n

“All the time you’re losing games and not playing well and our performances are inconsistent, then that suggests that players within your team are inconsistent, and we want consistent players.<\/p>\n

“The challenge for me as a coach and for those individuals is you play at your best week in and week out, and then it gives you a better chance of staying around and earning yourself a contract for another 12 months.”<\/p>\n

On Hull’s quota situation, with at least two spots set to be available next year following the exit of Liam Knight and the decision not to renew Jed Cartwright’s contrac<\/a>t, Last continued: “I think it’s important that your quota players have a certain level and a different sort of standard because there’s a value in what comes with being a quota player.<\/p>\n

“Ligi has certainly provided that for Hull over the years. He’s been one of the first games on the team sheet. He’s a strong ball carrier. He’s one of those players that opponents look for because he’s got that confrontational side, which is something we really value and we appreciate. For Ligi, I think it’s all about him getting a run of consistent form together, and hopefully that is in the very near future for us.”<\/p>\n

As for recruitment, Hull remain active for the 2026 season, with Richie Myler working in tandem with incoming head coach Steve McNamara for 2027. They have retained Jeremiah Mata’utia on loan for the next month and brought in Ethan O’Neill, although Leeds Rhinos have a recall option after one week should they desire it. But as far as other potential signings go, the door is always open.<\/p>\n

“It’s a 24\/7 thing, recruitment,” Last said. “You’re always looking at your squad and looking at players who could potentially come in and help you. I know Richie is looking at players to help us in the here and now but also with a view on who can potentially help us moving forward to where we want to be as a club, which is challenging at the top end of the table.<\/p>\n

“It’s just an ongoing process. You’re constantly looking, and if there’s a deal to be done, we’ll try and get that done. But there hasn’t been any (deals) spoken about on an immediate basis, like we’re going to go get this guy or we’re going to get him. It’s just a 24\/7 thing. If someone becomes available, and we think he could help us right now, then we’re in a position to be able to strike.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hull FC have retention calls to make and as far as recruitment goes, are in a position to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":961302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[255042,115424,118734,4151,6531,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-961301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-andy-last","9":"tag-hull-fc","10":"tag-ligi-sao","11":"tag-rugby","12":"tag-rugby-league","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116578041726779909","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=961301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/961301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/961302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=961301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=961301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=961301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}