The triple Hull FC Player of the Year on his form this season, the club’s progress, and kicking on in 2026.
11:36, 23 Sep 2025Updated 11:50, 23 Sep 2025
Hull FC’s triple Player of the Year for 2025: Zak Hardaker.
There are many factors that get athletes to perform at their peak, but for Zak Hardaker, Hull FC’s Player, Player’s Player, and Supporter’s Player of the Year, few are bigger than connection – and to say the 33-year-old has found a connection at the Black and Whites is an understatement.
Hardaker is in his element here. Always an admirer of Hull from afar, he’s now doing his bit at the club he almost signed for at the start of his career – and he hasn’t looked back.
Lining up in numerous positions this season, the club’s ‘Swiss army knife’ has competed hard and battled hard no matter where he’s been played, but for such a relentless and passionate competitor, it’s just about doing his bit – and Hardaker has certainly done that at a club that resonates with him both on and off the field.
“I didn’t come here for individual accolades,” Hardaker told Hull Live. “I just wanted to come here and show my work ethic, my willingness to work hard for the team, and put pride back in the badge and the city. I think collectively as a group we’ve done that.
“We’re a hard-working group, and that’s all I try to do, really: work hard. I work hard in training and I work hard on the pitch. John (Cartwright) spoke week in and week out about putting your best foot forward and looking after your own lane, and for me, whether it’s been at centre, wing, second row, half-back, or full-back, I’ve tried to do my best in that job.
“To get recognised by supporters, players, and the coaching staff is amazing. I’m on cloud nine at the moment. I really love this club – everything about it, playing, the community side, and mixing with the fans. My family loves it, my kids love it, and I love it – I’m all in.”
One of several new signings ahead of 2025, Hardaker had no negative thoughts surrounding his move to Hull, even if the perception of the club, externally at least, was low after a dismal 2024 season. Instead, he knew if the team knuckled down, they could move forward – and even though they just missed out on the play-offs, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
“I didn’t have negative thoughts when I came in,” Hardaker continued. “I was always positive and always optimistic about what we can do as a club and as a team. The players we signed – I thought we’d be competitive, and we certainly were.
“We surprised a lot of people, even our own fans at some points, and we took great pride in that. Towards the end, we ran out of steam, ran out of bodies, and just came up short, but we can be really proud of this year’s efforts.
“We’ve got a really good baseline now for where we know we need to be as a team and as a club, and the only way is up. We’re looking forward to next year.”
And as for those early-season ambitions, the triple award winner isn’t playing it safe. 2026 will be a massive year and Hardaker, who wants to finish his career in the black and white, is setting his sights high.
“Top four – that will be the goal now,” he added. “The signings we’ve made will only be positive for the group. This year has been really good and we just need to keep improving as a team – that’s the challenge now. Richie (Myler) and his department are getting the players in and to where we need to be. John is confident of being successful in the next couple of years as well – and hopefully I’m here to be a part of it.
“I’ve said it to you before, but I can play for another five years yet, definitely, and whether that’s at this club or elsewhere, we’ll see, but I want to coach after my playing career too, so being at this club for the next 10-15 years in one way or another sounds really good to me.
“But it’s all about playing, and next year is a really big focus for me. We’ve had a really good year, on and off the field, but we’ve got eight or so weeks off now – a bit of downtime with the kids – to go on holiday, get away, and then come back for next season, and give it another go.”