Some telling comments.
Hull FC have had a torrid 2026 season.
Andy Last has put Hull FC’s lack of mental preparation as a reason down to the side’s poor performance this year.
The Black and Whites have rued their inconsistency throughout a difficult 2026 that saw the messy departure of John Cartwright and speculation on several first-team players’ futures, with Last making no secret that certain players haven’t got themselves in the right ‘headspace’ to play this year.
And there’s been no hiding it, with rugby league holding no prisoners, and Hull finishing in a disappointing 11th place spot in the Super League table after a campaign that brought just eight league wins from 27 rounds.
“There are some things that you can’t control and I wish I could, but you can’t control what some players do once they’ve left your environment, how they go about being professional away from the environment, or how they get into that mindset of playing,” Last explained. “And as much as you can try and influence that, individual preparation is something that is so important.
“As a coach, you can say the right thing and you can put your training session together and nail your preview and feel as though you’ve nailed your game day and your talk before the match and your half times, but if those players aren’t getting themselves into that headspace during the course of the week and getting that mental prep right, that’s very difficult to control as a coach.”
Pointing to club legend Gareth Ellis as an example, Last continued: “I’ve had some deep, long chats with the staff in Simon Grix, and obviously Gaz Ellis and Gaz speaks about that he can’t remember many games where he was feeling 100%. There were very few games where he was 100%, but it was just all about getting his head in that right space and I can count on one hand how many times I thought Gaz played a poor game.
“He said there were so many games where he’d gone into matches not feeling 100%, and instead down at 60%, but he found a way mentally to get himself in that head space. And if you could bottle and put it into some of our lads and get that bit of mental prep right and get yourself ready to play… it’s something which I think would have made a huge impact for us as a team and those as individuals.
“It’s something which is very difficult to control as a coach, getting those individuals to live it 24/7. You can play at it, but this game’s too hard, and if you aren’t quite where you need to be mentally, it’ll showcase itself in your performance.
“I reckon there’s been plenty of occasions this year where too many players just weren’t there mentally and it showcased itself in some aspects of their performance, which were really, really poor.
“I don’t think it’s a choice. I just think it’s getting your head in that space. You can go out onto the training field, run as hard as you can, and lift as hard as you can, but the only person who really, really knows if he’s giving his absolute best in that week is that individual.
“There’s been probably one or two occasions where it’s been a case of ‘Have you really actually given your best?’ The only person who really, really knows is that person looking back in the mirror, and I reckon on reflection, there’ll be lots of players who probably just haven’t quite been where they needed to be mentally and again, it showcases itself in performance.”