"Enjoyable." Simon Grix's straight-up answer when asked about Hull FC's pre-season so far. "It's looking more like what a Super League environment should look like."

Telling words, but as always with the 39-year-old, it's how it is. There's no sugarcoating the situation. That's not Grix's style, who is a fresh and rejuvenated figure coaching alongside John Cartwright and Andy Last this winter.

Working in a more professional setting, Grix, who fronted Hull through a turbulent and torrid 2024 season, is now at home, sharing the workload and enjoying himself again.

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There's relief, and while the Halifax native is always measured, there's a sense of optimism again, even excitement, with Hull's hub now complete, drawing a good mood around training as the first-team, which now contains new and experienced players and staff, gets ready for the rigors of a new Super League season.

"In that time off from the end of the season, the hub, our communal space if you like, is now live," Grix, speaking to Hull Live, explained. "That has made a big difference to the day-to-day, but on top of that, we've got more men around the place, both in the playing group and some more experienced staff members as well.

"It just feels like, and certainly from a personal point of view, that the load has lightened significantly. There are more people to shoulder responsibility, I suppose, but it's been really good so far. Hopefully we can put ourselves in a good position when the first ball is kicked."

Grix continued: "The environment has changed because of that communal space. Before, no one was hanging around after training, and between the sessions, you had little pockets of players scattered around the university, wherever they could sit, whereas now they've got a space where they're all in there together.

"It looks much more like a group and a team, which is good—that mateship is so important in our game. I walked in last year; we had some older boys, but half of them went halfway through the year, so with all the changes that happened, we were out of sight, but I think we've got a more settled group now. I wouldn't foresee us offloading the blokes we've signed this year. We've done a better job there. We're not where we want to be yet, but we've taken some good steps."

And as for Cartwright, Grix is buoyed by what he's seen so far. It's no secret that the former Halifax coach came to Hull to work under Tony Smith, but he's now cutting his cloth under a man highly respected within the NRL—one who has won Premierships before, both as a player and assistant coach, not to mention an Origin series just this summer.

"Carty is a good bloke," Grix said. "Anyone I spoke to before he came, everything they said has marred up with him. He's relaxed. He knows when to raise his voice, and he knows when to be chill about stuff. He's organised. He's a big man, and he's a presence around the group, which is great.

"He's not alone either; we've got Lasty as well, who has been good for our group. We're good for each other, I think, as a coaching team. Everything has been great so far, and we're all on the same page with what we want to do.

"As the junior in terms of coaching years between the three of us, I'm getting into that and trying to soak up as much as I can off those two blokes. We all feed back to each other, and we make sure we're on the right track and that we're moving forward all of the time. It's been good not to take it all on yourself, I suppose, and training has been different in a positive sense."

Between the three coaches, there is shared accountability and responsibilities. They are a team, and they challenge each other to be better every day. That is bearing fruit, with the trio in sync and determined to get Hull back up to where they desire to be.

"From a coaching perspective, we all have our little bits that we're more keen on, if you like, and we deliver different aspects of the game," Grix added. "We're all together behind the scenes; we're all meeting and talking, and we all know what each other is doing, so the messages are the same.

"We're pushing each other and challenging each other. If it's an attacking play or structure, it's all three of pushing it out, so that feeling of being tight and connected as a coaching staff is good. The environment that we are trying to put together has a healthy fear within it; a new coach comes in, and there's always a healthy fear, and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Everyone is still behaving. It's just been an enjoyable place to come and work. Long may that continue."

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