What happened to Hull’s only Grand Finalists?
Tomorrow Hull FC will walk out at the DW Stadium in the hope of reaching just their second ever Super League Grand Final. League Leaders’ Shield winners Wigan Warriors stand in their way, but the Black and Whites will be desperate to make history by becoming the first side to compete in a Grand Final on home soil and end a challenging year on a real high.
Hull have competed in a couple since, but the only previous time they’ve won a play-off semi-final came in 2006, as Hull saw off Bradford Bulls 19-12 at the KCOM.
Richard Horne, Motu Tony and Kirk Yeaman were the tryscorers to see off a starstudded Bulls side coached by former FC player Steve Mcnamara in front of 16,087.
With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look back at that night and what happened next to the 17 Hull players involved.
Shaun Briscoe: The full-back played a key role in the club’s charge to the Grand Final and after missing the 2005 Challenge Cup final through appendicitis, he was desperate to represent the club in a major final.
He would have one more year with Hull before moving across the city to Hull KR, where he made 100 appearances, scored 30 tries and broke into the England squad. He finished his career with Widnes Vikings.
Motu Tony: Tony touched down on 14 occasions in 2006 and ended his best season in a Hull shirt at Old Trafford. He went on to make 105 appearances in total before spending two years with Wakefield Trinity.
He returned to the club once he had retired from playing in a football manager capacity and now works as a general manager of high performance for New Zealand Rugby League.
Sid Domic: Domic arrived at Hull at the back-end of his career and went on to play for a season and a half before being released midway through the 2007 season. He signed for Dewsbury Rams but his time in West Yorkshire was short-lived.
The Australian is a talented artist and since retiring has designed the inaugural Indigenous All Stars jersey and headgear for Johnathan Thurston.
Kirk Yeaman: No man has scored more tries for FC in the Super League than Kirk Yeaman and when he retired from playing in 2016, he did so as a club legend. Therefore, it was a no brainer that he stuck around at the club and took on a role as an assistant conditioner, which he still holds today. He did come out retirement to help out the Black and Whites for one game in 2018.
Gareth Raynor: Another club legend, Raynor spent the best part of nine seasons with FC, racking up over 100 tries before leaving at the end of Hull’s 2009 campaign.
A stint at Crusaders followed in 2010 before continuing his impressive scoring record while representing Bradford Bulls, Featherstone Rovers and London Skolars. Without doubt, though, Hull saw the best of the former Great Britain international.
Paul Cooke: Cooke missed just one match in the 2006 campaign and not only played a key role in the win over Bradford, but also pulled the strings throughout FC’S famous 13-game winning run.
He shocked the city, though, when in 2007 he decided to make the switch from black and white to red and white and move to newlypromoted Hull KR.
He would go on to represent Wakefield Trinity and Doncaster before stepping into coaching.
Richard Horne: Arguably one of the best players the club has ever produced. Horne devoted his entire playing career to the Black and Whites and eventually hung up his boots in 2014 with 387 appearances under his belt.
He went on to spend time in the club’s coaching ranks before parting ways with the club at the end of last season to focus solely on coaching League 1 side Doncaster.
Ewan Dowes: The Cumbrian prop was in his pomp during the 2006 campaign, playing a key role under Peter Sharp. He went on to play 240 times for the club, scoring 10 tries, and he’s another who is still considered something of a favourite amongst supporters, despite leaving nine years ago.
Dowes spent time in the lower leagues with Workington Town and Dewsbury Rams before retiring.
Richard Swain: The skipper would have loved to get his hands on the Super League trophy a season after lifting the Challenge
Cup but it wasn’t meant to be.
Unfortunately, 2006 was his final full season and was forced to retire midway through the 2007 campaign with a back injury. He quite rightly has a place in the club’s hall of fame.
Garreth Carvell: Carvell is another who was at the peak of his powers in 2006 as he went on to claim two Great Britain caps in the weeks after the Grand Final.
He made the switch to Warrington Wolves at the end of the 2008 campaign, where he won the Challenge Cup on two occasions.
He retired in 2015 after short stints at Castleford, Featherstone and back at Hull and he is now the head of the players’ union.
Lee Radford: The Hull-born forward had a key role to play in 2006 after making the move
back from Bradford but he couldn’t lead the side to a Grand Final win.
He went on to make 170 appearances for the Black and Whites before taking the head coach reins in 2014 and leading the club to Wembley wins in 2016 and 2017.
He was removed from the role earlier this year and he has agreed to switch codes after taking up a coaching role with newly formed Dallas Jackals.
Shayne Mcmenemy:
The back-rower was a mainstay in the FC side for three seasons, but the 2006 Grand Final was one of his last games with the club.
He pulled on a Hull shirt just four more times as injury saw his time with the club come to an end. He represented WA Reds after leaving Hull before stepping into coaching.
Danny Washbrook: 2006 was Washbrook’s breakthrough campaign with the club, making 20 appearances and really making an impression under Sharp.
He featured 228 times over two spells for FC with a stint at Wakefield wedged in between. He left at the end of last year and stepped into the part-time ranks with York City Knights, who he is expected to represent next season.
Paul King: It is fair to say Hull’s pack could be considered one of the best in the competition at that time and King was another who was at his very best in 2006. He made 253 appearances for the club in total before spending a couple of years with Wakefield at end of his career.
Scott Wheeldon: The forward’s career has taken him far and wide and as of a few months ago, he was still competing. Wheeldon was just starting out in 2006 but featured regularly off the bench throughout his time in the first team.
He joined Rovers in 2009 before going on to represent London Broncos, London Skolars, Castleford Tigers, Featherstone Rovers and Sheffield Eagles. He was contracted to the Eagles for the 2020 campaign, which was cut short through coronavirus.
Chris Chester: This was Chester’s final outing in a Hull shirt before making the move to Craven Park in 2007. He made 36 appearances for Rovers over two seasons before going on to coach the Robins.
He is currently head coach at Wakefield and has been since 2016.
Graeme Horne: Horne featured 132 times for Hull during his six year stint in the firstteam at the KCOM Stadium before moving on to Huddersfield Giants in 2010.
He spent six seasons with Hull KR before appearing for York City Knights. This season he agreed to play under his brother, Richard, at Doncaster.