I've flipped switch from being pals to being their coach, but I'm still me

HULL LEGEND HOUGHTON EXPLAINS WHAT HE'D LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO FC

- By DAN TOMLINSON

Hull FC legend Danny Houghton has only been in the coaching game for 15 months, but he’s already got his first promotion.

Assisting Francis Cummins in the academy setup this year, the now 36-year-old has continued the same role in preseason this winter.

However, he has also stepped up to become the club’s new reserves coach for the 2026 season and beyond.

For Houghton, it's a huge opportunity, and while he will follow the same shapes and structures seen throughout the whole club, he also has the chance to make his own mark on his own team - a chance he is relishing.

“I'm loving it,” Houghton, speaking to the Mail, said. “Of course, the club has its systems and its calls and we like that to run through the full club, but just to drop my own bits into that pie is good.

“That's the conversation I had, to have my own team and to put my own stamp on that, and the start to reserves preseason has been really good. We've had some uni boys come in and they've been great - they've really come in and added to the sessions. We're really chuffed with how it’s going so far.

“It’s also been a little bit surreal going from playing with some of the lads to coaching them within a year or so. I've flipped that switch from being pals to being their coach, but I’m me and I don’t want to change me. I want to put my little spin on things, but I also want to have that good group feel, that camaraderie feel that a good team should have.

“A lot of these boys, both part-time and in the first team, have been around the system together, and they know each other well. It’s just building that tight group together.