‘A piece of p*ss’: Jake Clifford offers damning verdict on Super League pre-season
Jake Clifford will return to the NRL this year - Alamy
Former Hull FC half-back has insisted that pre-season during his one season in Super League was a “piece of p*ss” compared to those in Australia after reflection on his time with the Black and Whites.
Clifford spent a solitary season at the MKM Stadium last year and was one of Hull’s better performers in a largely disappointing season for the Black and Whites. He then secured a return to the NRL after agreeing a deal to sign for North Queensland Cowboys for 2024.
And speaking on SEN League, Clifford offered a damning assessment of his experience of an English pre-season during deep winter. When asked if he could compare a pre-season in England and Australia, he said: “No chance. Pre-season in England was a piece of piss really compared to what we go through here.”
When asked about his experience of Hull, he replied: “It’s a very passionate footy town, very cold and yeah, we didn’t start the way we wanted, but we went through a nice run of winning some big games against some big teams through the year.”
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Clifford will reunite with Todd Payten at the Cowboys and he admitted that the door was left ajar for him to return to the Cowboys when he left the club at the end of 2021, with the mandate to go away and develop his career.
“Before I left, it was a conversation around go away, play some good footy and who knows, you could end up back here. That was always in the back of my mind that this could pop up again and luckily enough while overseas, I got a call and the rest was history.
“We’ve got a good relationship, and how everything panned out before, me leaving, and we clicked really well and it made it harder to leave. But he left that door open and it’s worked out perfectly.”