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Steve McNamara's next Hull FC captain options with four clear candidates

The Black and Whites are set to enter the 2027 season with a new skipper

Hull FC head coach Steve McNamara

Hull FC head coach Steve McNamara(Image: Hull FC )

Steve McNamara is set to appoint a new Hull FC captain before the start of the Super League season.

The Black and Whites have been skippered by Aidan Sezer over the last couple of seasons, but the Australian half-back is facing an uncertain future. As Hull Live reported earlier this year, Sezer has been offered to clubs and interest has emerged from a couple of Super League clubs with Bradford Bulls thought to be in for the scrum-half at present.

McNamara will look to hand captaincy duties to someone else then over the coming weeks and on the face of it, he has four clear candidates.

Daly Cherry-Evans

The half-back is the obvious choice to take on the captaincy in 2027 given the leadership duties he can be expected to take on at the club. Cherry-Evans has done it all in the sport and last season showed he is still very much at the top of his game after leading Sydney Roosters to the NRL title.

He'll be the most senior man by far in the Black and Whites set up and it's fair to say that the Australian will act as a coach on the field, with McNamara looking to him to convey his message and lead the way.

Giving him the captaincy makes a lot of sense then, especially given the respect he commands and the weight of his voice.

John Asiata

Asiata has served as a vice-captain for the last two seasons and he continues to lead by example on and off the training field. The loose-forward is a pivotal member of Hull's pack and like Cherry-Evans, when he talks, people listen.

He previously served as captain of Leigh Leopards, where he won the Challenge Cup, and he knows the current Hull squad inside and out at this point.

Asiata has struggled with injuries during his time at the club and that record might stand against him, but he started pre-season training with the rest of the FC squad last week and the hope is that he can have a big say on Hull's 2027 campaign.

Isaac Liu

Like Cherry-Evans, Liu will be making the move to Hull for the 2027 season on a one-year deal. He's 35, has heaps of experience under his belt and he's been brought to the club because of that, with his performances in the Leigh colours demonstrating he has plenty left in the tank.

Liu was a co-captain at Leigh last season alongside Lachlan Lam and he hardly missed a game for the club.

He would be a slightly different leader to those above, though, with Liu thought to be a quieter individual who leads through his actions on and off the field rather than his words necessarily.

Joe Batchelor

Batchelor was key member of the Black and Whites dressing room last season with the former St Helens stepping into the club and having a big impact.

By all accounts, Batchelor spoke up when something needed to be said last season and he was one of the senior players attempting to drive standards around the training ground.

The back-rower has everything McNamara will want to see in a player and he was one of the strongest on the field consistently last season, too. He's not an obvious choice for the captaincy but he's a leader within the club and McNamara could recognise that by handing him the metaphorical armband.

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