Hull FC exits and recruitment addition outlined as Richie Myler keen to see youth rewards

Hull FC have been far too sentimental when it comes to their playing roster in recent times. However, that approach now seems to be a thing of the past.

To call it cutthroat would be a bit dramatic, but the decisions being made now certainly have one common denominator about them: they put the club first. That sort of toughness has been required for a while, and it's now come to fruition in the shape of Richie Myler.

Myler, in his director of rugby role since April, is now swinging the axe and is not afraid to make the tough calls. That, in a nutshell, is what Hull have been crying out for—even if that means certain players end up moving on.

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The players to do that recently are Jack Walker, Liam Tindall, and Morgan Smith, as first reported by Hull Live earlier this month, with all three players since being released. One player, Smith, has already found a new club in Sheffield Eagles, with the hope that Walker and Tindall will follow suit.

And while Myler knows what needs to be done as Hull look to get back on an upward trajectory, there's no satisfaction at the releases, with the trio the latest in a long line of required change this year for the underperforming club.

"It was very difficult," Myler told Hull Live when asked about the recent exits. "They were probably the hardest ones that I've had to do, and there were some tough conversations had, but I tried to be upfront and honest about it all.

"I don't think the players did too much wrong, but for the balance of the squad and where we want to go to, the people we've brought in, and the development of our younger players who have pushed forward last season, it just didn't work. I wish those boys the best for their futures. They will still have good careers, and I hope they find a solution.

"But people have been crying out for change, and the biggest thing that I've had reported back to me since I've come into this job is that our environment needed to be tougher and our environment needed to not just accept when it wasn't going the right way; it needed to change. The easy decision would have been to keep those three boys in the squad, but if we want to move forward, compete, and go a bit further, then we needed to make a change. It's just unfortunate for those three boys that that's the way it played out."

If anything, the exits pointed to one thing above all else: youth development, with Myler admitting the rise of the likes of Logan Moy and Lewis Martin, who were both in the side on merit, swayed those decisions.

"That's the best way we can look at it," Myler continued. "Yes, we've brought Jordan Rapana in to play full-back, and Zak Hardaker can also play there, but our young players have pushed themselves to the front of the queue.

"That's ultimately what happened last season. We've brought players in, don't get me wrong, and they are experienced pros, but it's our young players, and this is what is exciting; they have pushed themselves to a point where you're going, 'Well, he could genuinely play next.' If Jordan Rapana doesn't start at full-back, for example, then Logan Moy, the way he's training, has a chance of playing, so having another full-back didn't make sense. That's more a testament to those young players.

"It's the same with Lewis Martin and Harvey Barron; they were great at the back end of the year, and arguably you'd be looking at them as starting wingers. That's just the reality of sport, which is exactly the environment you want to actually have. You want an environment where the young players push themselves so far forward that you have to think, 'Well, I'm going to have to put them in.' That's good. It shows the system is working."

The exits have opened up a bit of cap space for Hull to utilise with the club, as previously reported by Hull Live, looking at middle options. Myler, meanwhile, is open to further recruitment and will work with head coach John Cartwright to find a solution, even if they have to wait into the new year to find the best option.

"We do have some cap space available," Myler added. "But if we do make an addition, we need to make sure that it's the right person that comes in. We're assessing our options."

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