Good evening and welcome to live updates from tonight’s Hull FC Fans Forum at the University of Hull’s Middleton Hall.
Chairman Adam Pearson, Director of Rugby Richie Myler, Head Coach John Cartwright, Andrew Thirkill, one of the club’s two potential new owners, will all be in attendance and taking questions from the 350 supporters in attendance on a variety of subjects as we look ahead to 2025.
Alternatively, you can listen to live coverage of the event with BBC Radio Humberside. To listen now – click here
Supporters will also be able to watch a full replay of the Fans Forum, which will be available later this evening after the conclusion of the event.
Coverage will get underway at 6.00pm.
Please refresh this page at regular intervals for updates:
LIVE UPDATES
7.20pm – That’s a wrap!
We’re all done here at Middleton Hall.
You can watch the Fans Forum back on the club’s social media channels later on.
7.10pm – Andrew Thirkill’s final word
“Adam and I have agreed on everything in principle. Due diligence has been done, so we’re aiming for completion in a few weeks time we hope. But the sooner the better really!”
6.55pm – John Cartwright on Andy Last’s return
“We’re onto a winner with us having him back at the club. It was a no-brainer for him. He speaks with great pride and passion to the playing group and I know how much Hull FC means to him.”
6.47pm – Richie Myler says pulling together is key
“The only way we fix our problems is together – with the full club pulling together. I think the club lost its identity a bit, but Hull FC will be here for another 100 years or more – but we won’t be.
“So what legacy do we want to leave? We ultimately want people to be proud of our club, and for people to respect us. So we need to change that perception.”
6.42pm – Adam Pearson on rebuilding bridges in the community
“We’re going to be driving the club out into the community more than ever, and that has already started. Richie and John are really driving that at the moment and we’re got some great projects in the pipeline.”
6.37pm – John Cartwright discusses improvements
“We’re making a big effort to get the building blocks of the club back to a top level, and that goes across the club.
“The feedback we’ve had from the players is that it feels like they’re coming into a fresh, new club. It’s all about getting those little parts right at the moment.”
6.30pm – John Cartwright’s thoughts on youngsters
“The club will see the benefit of those young players getting a lot of game time in 2024 further down the track.
“Physically their bodies aren’t quite ready yet, but a lot of those players will get footy at stages throughout 2025. It’s exciting to see what they could do in patches last season.”
6.26pm – John Cartwright on further recruitment
“Our quota list is full. The salary cap works 24/7 – every club is always looking. So we can’t look overseas, but if there’s an opportunity for us somewhere -if the right player comes along – we’ll do what we can.”
6.22pm – Richie Myler on delivering a fitter squad in 2025
“The intensity of pre-season has been higher. John’s mantra is if they’re not fit, they wont play. I am happy with our backroom staff now when we were maybe understaffed a bit last year. That has been recruited. Credit to those staff so far for a great opening few weeks.”
6.18pm – Adam Pearson on the stadium and SMC relationship
“The stadium situation will be high on Andrew’s agenda. We have a good relationship with the council and the SMC. The future for our negotiations looks positive but I’m not sure when those will start due to the planned redevelopments around the stadium.”
6.13pm – Andrew Thirkill discusses IMG grading
“David and I will be investing substantial amounts of money going forward which will allow us the opportunity to work towards retaining Grade A status.
“They’re an international organisation with great connections. I’m sure IMG will add some leverage and support in terms of getting that over the line.”
6.07pm – Andrew Thirkill addresses the audience
“I’m delighted to be here. It’s all happened very quickly. Adam and I had a very brief meeting. I came to a game this season and I was in awe of the support. It was fantastic. I looked at Hull and thought I can really make something of this.”
5.00pm
We’re live from the University of Hull’s Middleton Hall ahead of tonight’s Fans Forum – BBC Radio Humberside’s lead Rugby League reporter Richard Stead will be hosting tonight’s event.
Over 350 supporters will be joining us here, with Adam Pearson, Richie Myler, John Cartwright, and Andrew Thirkill due on stage at 6.00pm.
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