Steve McNamara back at Hull FC as the Humberside coaching test begins

Steve McNamara is back at Hull FC, 30 years after he left the club as a player. The BBC has compared his task with that of Nathan Cayless, who has taken over at Hull KR, and asked which of the two has the harder job on Humberside for the 2027 season.

Hull FC announced McNamara's appointment in April, when he was an assistant coach at Warrington under Sam Burgess. He has a personal link to the club that goes back a long way. As an eight-year-old fan, he was at the ground for the club's last top-division title win, in 1979. His son Ben also played for Hull FC between 2020 and 2023.

The job he has inherited is not an easy one. Hull FC's 2026 season was turbulent, and it ended with the departure of head coach John Cartwright. They finished 11th in Super League, the top flight of rugby league in England, and missed the play-offs, the end-of-season finals for the leading teams. It was the sixth year in a row they have failed to reach them.

Their record on the field tells the same story. Hull FC won eight Super League games last season. Only once this century has a campaign produced fewer wins, and that was 2024, when they won three.

Across the city, Hull KR have turned to Nathan Cayless. He was appointed to succeed Willie Peters, so both Hull clubs are starting new chapters at the same time. The two clubs share a city and a rivalry, and the BBC's analysis sets their challenges side by side.

Hull FC have not stood still in the off-season. The club has confirmed 10 new signings. They include Bailey Hodgson, who joins from Leigh, Arlix Da Costa, who comes from Catalans, and Daly Cherry-Evans.

For Hull FC supporters, the starting point is simple to state. They want more wins, and they want to be back in the play-off picture. McNamara knows the club well, and he knows the fans. Whether that history translates into results is the question the season will answer.