Who’ll be Hull’s kicking king?
With Marc Sneyd at Hull FC for so many years, it was something we all took for granted, but now with last season’s two main kickers Jake Connor and Luke Gale both leaving, another new goal-kicker is required once again for 2023 and beyond.
Converting four points into six is so important, with such a luxury being a problem for Hull FC throughout 2022, who used five different kickers during the season.
Here, the Mail looks at five options for next year.
Liam Sutcliffe
In a nine-year career at Leeds, Suctliffe was at times a regular goalkicker.
The 27-year-old kicked 258 goals for the Rhinos, the most on this list by far, albeit he hasn’t been a regular option in that department since the 2019 season.
Still, he remains a good striker of the ball and someone for Hull FC to consider.
Darnell Mcintosh
A sporadic kicker at Hull FC last season, Mcintosh landed six out of his nine attempts for a 66 per cent success rate. Playing on the wing, he is an option and is likely to be a certain starter in a position where he scored 13 tries in 2022.
Ben Mcnamara
Pending Jake Trueman’s fitness, the young half may be the first point of call in 2023, although our understanding is that Trueman is making good progress on his ACL rehab with a February return the target.
When Mcnamara plays he will be a kicking option. He’s been really successful with the tee for Hull, landing 22 of his 28 attempts so far for a 78 per cent success rate.
Tex Hoy
Likely to start at fullback for Hull FC next season, Hoy did take the tee responsibility at times in his Newcastle Knights career, but he did indicate himself that he’s not the best kicker on his own Twitter account earlier this year.
He landed 15 of his 29 attempts in the NRL for a 51 per cent success rate.
Jake Clifford
Hull FC’S new half-back has kicked goals for both of the two NRL clubs he’s played for, landing 19 at North Queensland Cowboys and 52 at Newcastle Knights. He kicked 71 from 107 attempts in his NRL career for a 66 per cent success rate and naturally as the starting half, may be the preferred option for the Black and Whites in 2022.