Hull FC new boy Zak Hardaker relishes fresh chance to defy doubters as he talks mistakes and success

Each time his career has threatened to come off the rails, the 33-year-old has found a way to get it back on track.

Hardaker has won 10 major trophies – including three Super League titles and the same number of Challenge Cups – and will be remembered as the only player of Leeds Rhinos' golden generation to claim the Man of Steel.

The 2017 Grand Final is one that got away for Hardaker and Castleford Tigers due to a failed drugs test, raising the question of how many honours he would have won without his off-field indiscretions.

Hardaker was handed a second drink-driving ban on the eve of last season but he has no intention of looking back at the start of a new chapter at Hull FC.

"Whatever job I would have done, I probably would have still come up with the same things away from rugby," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"It's a weird one. I don't really regret a lot of the things I've done because I've always come out the other side pretty good. There are some things I probably wouldn't have liked to have done but I'm pleased to have come through the other side and had success.

"I'm fortunate that I'm in a position now where I can help other players to make sure they don't go through the same thing. If they do make a mistake, I'm someone who has been there and done it and feel I'm pretty comfortable to talk to.

"I'm grateful to have gone through those trials and tribulations. They've made me the person I am today."

Hardaker the veteran could have been forgiven for lowering his expectations after going from Wigan Warriors and Leeds to Leigh Leopards and Hull.

But Leigh's 2023 Challenge Cup triumph has taught him that anything is possible during his time at the MKM Stadium.

"The Leigh one was massive," he said at Hull's media day this week.

"It was a team that had just come up and everyone was saying we were going to get relegated that year, questioning why I signed there.

"I spoke to the group here and said it's a similar feeling where nobody is giving us a chance and think we'll finish bottom. That kind of talk gets me out of bed on a morning to prove the doubters wrong.

"We've trained really hard and look like a totally different team from the start of pre-season. We've gelled really well and are looking forward to playing now."

Whereas the Leopards were already on their way up when Hardaker joined, Hull are effectively a new club as they set out in 2025.

Silverware will always be the aim for Hardaker but he recognises there is a bigger picture at the MKM Stadium.

"I've always said Hull are a massive club," he declared. "It's a club I nearly signed for way back in 2010.

"The challenge is probably different for me. I want to succeed here, whatever that success looks like.

"It's probably to leave this place in a better position than when I arrived. We've got an abundance of young talent and if I can pass on my knowledge and help them, I'll feel like I've achieved something.

"My role has changed over the years but I've still got a lot to give and am as competitive as ever."

That will to win is vital for the Black and Whites as they look to firm up their soft underbelly and create a strong culture under John Cartwright.

Hardaker has been happy to play his part in raising standards during pre-season.

"That comes naturally," he said. "I hate losing.

"The problem I've had has been off the pitch. On the pitch, that mentality has always been there.

"I've been at clubs where I could learn from blokes like Jamie Peacock, Sean O'Loughlin, Tommy Leuluai and Kylie Leuluai. They instilled the one percenters in us younger blokes and I can do the same now.

"In 15 years' time, the Logan Moys could be sat here where I am now saying the same things."

Covered in tattoos, the brawny Hardaker is unrecognisable from the raw-boned youngster who scored a debut hat-trick for Featherstone Rovers in 2010.

The Pontefract native has been on a rollercoaster ever since – and he does not plan to get off anytime soon.

"I'm 33 now but I still feel 21," said Hardaker.

"I won't fade away, don't worry about that. I feel just as good as I did when I was 21 and am still up there with the fittest, even if the speed is going a little bit.

"I'm still as competitive as ever, still hungry, still want to win things and get out of bed with a spring in my step. I love rugby which is the most important thing.

"I reckon I've got another five or six years in me easy. We'll see how I'm going after two or three."