Every Hull FC opening day fixture in Super League: history made, legends born, heavy fog

Hull FC will kickstart their 2025 Super League campaign in the south of France, with the first of two trips to Perpignan locked in next year. The Black and Whites will meet Catalans Dragons in round one, with John Cartwright set for his first league game as head coach of the club.

It will be the first time tat the Black and Whites fly across the channel in the opening round. However, Hull are no strangers to early season meetings at Stade Gilbert Brutus, clashing with the Dragons in round four this year and round three last year.

It's also not the first time Hull will face Catalans in round one, with the two sides meeting back in 2007 at the MKM Stadium. Here is a rundown of the club's opening-round results in the summer top-flight competition.

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1998: Sheffield 24 Hull 34. The Airlie Birds' Super League debut. Three lads from St Helens, including Steve Prescott, and a history-making win at the Don Valley. Not a bad start.

1999: Wigan 58 Hull 6. A brutal opening to the 1999 campaign with just a Steve Prescott try and conversion to show. It was a tough season, with Hull winning just five of their 30 league games and surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth.

2000: Halifax 30 Hull 27. Hull, with almost a brand-new team (including Brian Carney, who scored a hat-trick), were just edged out at the Shay.

2001: Hull 46 Salford 34. The Boulevard, hosting its last first round game, averaged a point a minute as defences went missing in an entertaining clash.

2002: Salford 10 Hull 24. A professional job from Hull at the Willows with Richard Horne and Anthony Smith pulling the strings.

2003: Wakefield 14 Hull 28. After opening the then-known KC Stadium against Halifax in the Challenge Cup, a hat-trick from Steve Prescott at former club Wakefield secured another Super League opening round win. The club record 88-0 victory over Sheffield followed the week after.

2004: St Helens 30 Hull 16. Two tries for Colin Best weren't enough as a resilient Hull side went down to Saints at Knowsley Road.

2005: Hull 12 Leeds 16. In front of a huge crowd of 17,080, tries from Gareth Raynor and Tommy Saxton on debut couldn't prevent Leeds from edging the televised contest.

2006: Castleford 18 Hull 42. Hull had their best-ever Super League season in 2006, and it started with a bang at Wheldon Road. Paul Cooke was at his instrumental best as the side stamped their mark.

2007: Hull 10 Catalans 10. A debut try from Matt Sing and three goals from Danny Tickle salvaged Hull a draw. The side took a while to get going in 2007, but they still finished the year in fourth place.

2008, Warrington 32 Hull 20. Hull were down to their bare bones already after a tough pre-season, fielding Tom Briscoe for the first time. A brave effort was in vain against a powerful Wire side.

2009: Hull 18 Wigan 10. Few gave Hull a chance for the 2009 opener, but the home side went on to win their opening five games of the season. It all went downhill after that.

2010: St Helens 12 Hull 32. Apparently in the thick fog, Sean Long produced a vintage display, Willie Manu was at his brilliant best, and Tom Briscoe ran 90 metres with one boot on. A classic.

2011: Hull 22 Hull KR 34. The 2011 season started with the Magic Weekend event in Cardiff. Hull raced into a 14-0 lead but were soon pegged back.

2012: Hull 20 Warrington 20. A brilliant contest to start the season. Hull looked all on for victory, but a late Wire try, who spent pre-season in Australia, earned them a draw.

2013: Leeds 36 Hull 6. Gareth Ellis broke his foot in the warm-up, and that set the tone for the night. Hull's only score came through Joe Arundel.

2014: Hull 36 Catalans 34. A mental game to start what was a mental reign under Lee Radford. Hull scored eight tries but could only kick two goals.

2015: Huddersfield 0 Hull 19. The club's 150th anniversary year started with a bang. Two tries from Jamie Shaul, one from Fetuli Talanoa, and Marc Sneyd introducing the famous left boot to the travelling fans who packed the away end out were enough to secure a fine win.

2016: Hull 42 Salford 20. Light show, pyrotechnics, the lot. There was a heavy feel-good factor going into 2016, and Hull didn't disappoint. Six months later, immortality at Wembley followed

2017: Wakefield 8 Hull 12. A Jake Connor winner late on sealed the win in one of the coldest Hull games in recent memory.

2018: Hull 38 Huddersfield 12. Hull found themselves trailing in this one but soon rallied to post seven tries, including a hat-trick from Fetuli Talanoa. They flew to Australia soon after, spending two weeks in New South Wales.

2019: Hull KR 18 Hull 16. A last-second try from Jimmy Keinhorst proved to be a sickener for Hull. They just couldn't buy any luck at the time.

2020: Leeds 4 Hull 30. A Hull masterclass at Headingley. This, with Gareth Ellis playing into his fourth decade as a professional rugby league player, was an immense opening performance.

2021: Hull 22 Huddersfield 10. Played behind closed doors, Hull looked the part, and Josh Reynolds was on fire. What could go wrong?

2022: Wakefield 12 Hull 16. Awful conditions again in an opener at Wakefield, but Hull did enough with their three new signings, Luke Gale, Darnell McIntosh, and Joe Lovodua, all finding the try line.

2023: Hull 32 Castleford 30. Hull raced into a 32-6 lead but were left hanging on as Castleford mounted a late comeback. A crazy start to the Tony Smith reign.

2024: Hull 0 Hull KR 22. One to forget for the Airlie Birds as cards for Herman Ese'ese and Ligi Sao, not to mention red for Franklin Pele, dominated an ugly contest.

What's in store for 2025? We'll find out on Friday 14 February. To view Hull's full fixture list, click here.