With the 2025 edition of the Magic Weekend just over a week away, Club Historian Bill Dalton looks back at Hull FC’s history with the annual Rugby League festival.
The event, held as a Super League weekend involving each of the twelve teams, was conceived in the 2007 season.
Although there had been an “On The Road” Round in 1998 – Hull FC’s first season in Super League having won the Division One Championship the previous year. Hull and Huddersfield played their fixture at Gateshead’s International Stadium on 24th July. Each of the six fixtures were held at various locations around the United Kingdom during that week.
The first Magic Weekend, as we recognise it now, was held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in 2008, staged as a ‘Derby’ Round and obviously, Hull FC’s first opponents had to be Hull KR.
The game attracted more publicity than the wider event because of the upset, at that stage in time, over Paul Cooke’s move to the Robins. He was instrumental in KR triumphing 14-10 that day.
The football over the whole weekend, though, was overshadowed by the controversy in the very last minute of the final game when Leeds Rhinos defeated Bradford Bulls by virtue of a winning try, which was scored from an offside position.
That was not to be the only occasion that such controversial scores were awarded at Magic. Indeed, Hull were the beneficiaries of such a blunder culminating in a match-winning score against Hull KR in the 2013 event at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
The whole concept of Magic has gradually proved more popular, especially now the rivals concept has been brushed aside. Nowadays, the fixtures are based on final league positions from the previous season.
Consequently, this year, Hull are drawn to play Huddersfield Giants, and this provides an opportunity to avenge our biggest Magic Weekend defeat at the hands of the Giants by 55-2 at Anfield in 2019.
Next weekend will see Magic Weekend return to St James’ Park, Newcastle – the eighth occasion it has been held there and a venue which is overwhelmingly popular with supporters of all participating clubs.
Other venues to have staged the event have been the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (3 times), Murrayfield, Edinburgh (twice), Etihad Stadium, Manchester (three times), Anfield, Liverpool (once) and Elland Road. Leeds (once).
Hull FC have been victorious on seven occasions, overcoming Castleford once, Hull KR 5 times, and Warrington once.
You can be there in Newcastle to support the Black & Whites against Huddersfield Giants, with tickets still on sale online here.
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