The Hull FC star on lofty expectations, subtle differences, the rugby league rollercoaster, and kicking on this year.
12:38, 24 Mar 2026Updated 17:09, 24 Mar 2026
Hull FC star Zak Hardaker.(Image: SW PIX)
Zak Hardaker has stated Hull FC have been guilty of believing their own hype this year, with the Black and Whites getting sucked into the expectation of kicking on after a much-improved 2025 season.
Finishing 7th last year, the expectations have been centred on finding the next level in 2026, but before Sunday’s thrilling victory over Leeds Rhinos, it hadn’t gone to plan. After wins over Salford RLFC and Bradford Bulls to start the season, Hull lost their way, losing four games in a row and crashing out of the Challenge Cup.
But Hardaker is now hoping Hull can use what was a pressure-relieving win against the Rhinos to jumpstart their year, with the side finding their standards again through honest hard work and nothing less.
“I think we were guilty of probably riding that wave of belief,” Hardaker, speaking on All Out Rugby League’s Back 10 podcast, said. “Like we came 7th last year, we’ve got these players that we brought in from Championship teams like St Helens and Jake Arthur from the NRL, and then on paper, if you look at the squad, we’re really strong.
“I think we have been a bit guilty of saying, ‘Right, we finished here. We’ve got these players in so automatically we’re probably top four.’ It doesn’t work like that in this industry, and now it’s just about setting our standards back to where they should be.
“That’s first and foremost: work hard, just work hard, give 100%, work hard for the badge and for the city, and after that, see where we go. I think the Leeds win really did set a bit of grounding for us and hopefully we can kick on from there.”
Playing with energy, Hull celebrated every little detail, every little win, against the Rhinos, and it paid off, with Hardaker outlining the impact those subtle differences had on their performance.
“You look at everything with a fine-tooth comb when you’re losing: what you had for breakfast and what you did, right or wrong, in the week,” he explained. “But in the last few weeks we’ve not been celebrating the little wins.
“There was a clip that Andy Last put on in review; we’d gone through a bit of a tough period in a game. We defended our line for back-to-back sets and then our left edge caused them to chuck the ball into touch, and all you could see was body language of ‘Thank god for that.’ There were no celebrations. It was just, ‘Right Christ, thank God for that. They hadn’t scored. What can we do next?’
“Going back to last year, everyone was trying their hearts out, everyone was backing each other up and we were celebrating the little wins, which we’ve probably gone away from. So it was a big factor of ‘Let’s celebrate everything.’ If someone causes a knock-on, let’s celebrate it. I think the fans got behind that as well, which really helped us in the game.”
Opening up on Hull’s early season struggles, Hardaker continued: “We’ve grown expectation after last year, and I don’t know if it’s from the outside noise in that we’ve probably let it creep in that we should be a team that should be winning some of those games. I think we’ve let that creep in and that’s our own fault as a club. There were high expectations before the season started of what was needed from us, from the top of the club to the fans, and then just us as players.
“And I think we just probably got stuck in it where we were a bit disappointed in ourselves; we were defending back-to-back sets, we were tired, and we were feeling sorry for ourselves, so the moments where you actually do celebrate, I think, instead of going ‘Oh, thank God’ – they’re the bits where you just have to change. They are only subtle, but going into the Leeds game, we said, ‘Look, we need to do something a bit different. We need to celebrate.’
“That’s what we did and I think just for self-confidence and the self-belief in the team and the lads that we’ve got playing at that time, it really did benefit us and yeah, just a little subtle thing like that, celebrating, I think it was a massive help for us to win that game.”
And while Hull know it’s only one win and there’s still a long way to go, the message, with nine players missing the Leeds game and talent to come back into the side, is simple: don’t write us off.
“It’s the famous quote of the rollercoaster and every rugby league player talks about it,” Hardaker said. “If we get the win against Catalans, that’s four points better off, the mood in camp swings, and the place is buzzing around Hull. We then go to a Hull KR derby, which is massive, but that gives us confidence.
“We’re on that rollercoaster; we beat Leeds, and if we beat Catalans, and then if we were to beat KR, people might say we might win the Grand Final. That’s the ups and downs of rugby league and that’s where we’re at.
“I know what people say about FC’s older players and older squad, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty games, you need your older heads. We’ve got a few of the Saints boys, Batch and Belly, who have been at Saints and who’ve won it, and myself, Sezer, and John, and Tom Briscoe, who I thought had an outstanding game against Leeds as well.
“We’ve got proven winners who have been there and done that. We’re getting bodies back; Batch is back in a few weeks, Sezer is a good couple of weeks, Herman’s halfway through the year, so when we get the bodies back, it’ll be a different kettle of fish.”
In the meantime, Hull know they have to dig in to get results.
“The ambitions of the club is definitely play-offs,” Hardaker added. “We’re just going to have to work hard, and hopefully we get the two points. Catalans played absolutely brilliantly last week (defeating Hull KR). Unfortunately, I think they got another four injuries, which for Hull FC people, is pretty good. For them, it’s not so good.
“We’ve just got to enjoy the moment at the minute. We’ve had a really good win and we’ve got to have an enjoyable week now and try and get that performance again on Sunday.”