I am a Hull FC supporter and I have been for more years than I care to remember and let me leave you, the reader in absolutely no doubt, if my team finish bottom of the Betfred Super League, I absolutely believe we should be relegated, there can be absolutely no argument about that.

However, there is a caveat here, at the moment, especially thanks to Huddersfield Giants’ victory over London Broncos, we are not bottom of the table, it is the team from our capital city that are bottom, cue all the innuendo that they don’t deserve to be relegated and exactly what they bring to the top flight of our game.

On that subject, I am completely united with you all, they shouldn’t be relegated, for reasons which I am going to relate in my role as an RFL accredited journalist and a rugby league supporter, you can put aside my allegiance to the black and white side of our divided city if you want, or not, it’s entirely up to you!

In May I had a brilliant trip to London, I engaged in a bit of culture, I did some sightseeing etc, and the most importantpart of my trip for me, was to go and report on my team becoming the first team to lose to London Broncos this season.

I loved the vibe around the Cherry Red Records Stadium, I loved that we got fed like royalty, far better than at every other club, in the media suite before the game, I loved the passion of both sets of supporters for what was, ultimately a bottom of the table, run of the mill league match.

As soon as I entered the ground, it felt like a proper rugby league stadium, it was very friendly and it was a genuine joyful atmosphere, with a family feel that rugby league is always very proud to promote, and rightly so.

There was also community engagement and the stadium and its surroundings felt very welcoming, again just like the game is always trying to promote.

Unfortunately, though, the Broncos are still bottom of Super League, they are officially the worst team in it, which should obviously mean that, should they finish there, they should be relegated, sorry but there’s no getting away from that. I have said Hull FC should be relegated if we finish bottom, and I believe the same must be said for every club, including the Broncos.

What I believe people, like Derek Beaumont for instance, are blinded by, is the emotion and the fairytale of the situation. On Friday night, the owner of Leigh Leopards said that Hull’s 68-6 defeat at Leeds was a disgrace to the game. Well, I’m sorry Degsy, but you put a team of various teenagers, loan players etc together, and I guarantee your team, in fact any team would struggle, just as we have this year.

I, for one would love to see London Broncos stay in Super League for next season, from what I saw in May, there is definitely something very positive there for the game to build on, that was blatantly obvious and no mistake.

However, I believe that my team also deserve just as much credit, if not more than London Broncos, for what is being built behind the scenes at this famous club. The academy and reserves set-up is 2nd to none, the community engagementwhich now boasts a brand new £1.5M community hub is reaching a whole new level, the fan base is massive and sells more tickets for Magic Weekend than pretty much every other club, every year.

In my role as journalist, I have seen and do continually see first-hand, the resources which Hull FC and their local community can and do use and with their charity work an important part of what the club does in its community, I believe all of that, armed with the list of bright young talent that has been blooded not just this year, although it has been in greater numbers in 2024,also deserves to be in the top flight.

Hull FC are currently a massively transitional club and what they have dished up on the field this season has been of a very low standard, some might say Championship standard, and I wouldn’t disagree with them.

On Friday night, what I witnessed was truly disgusting from the men in black and white and it was frankly, embarrassing.

But the fact remains that Hull FC are still not in 12th place and that is the be all and end all for some people, so yes, the Airlie Birds should be relegated if they finish bottom, I’m not a fan of IMG grading, but if London Broncos finish bottom, who will actually put their hand up and say, yes London Broncos deserve to be relegated?

There is a lot of passion regarding the future of the Broncos in our game, but there is also a lot of passion for Hull FC in the game, for what they bring to the game and also behind the scenes and rightly so.

I suppose the other answer would be to promote two teams from the championship, ditch the loop fixtures and have a 14 team Super League, with the top flight as competitive as it is now, surely, we could add two more teams to the perceived closed shop, couldn’t we?

Written by Ian Judson (Site contributor & Hull FC fan)