Hull FC are finding a positive in their ongoing situation.
Young Hull FC forward Will Kirby. (Image: Dave Lofthouse, Hull FC)
Andy Last has shared a Hull FC positive that could have long-term effects in the seasons to come. The Black and Whites are doing it tough right now on the injury front, with 13 players on the treatment table and a further two out to suspension.
However, that reality has seen Last blood some of the club’s up-and-coming talent, with Logan Moy in the side for the last eight games and Will Kirby and Lloyd Kemp in for the last two.
And akin to the 2024 season, where Lewis Martin, Harvey Barron, and Davy Litten got their chance, Last is now looking for a similar history repeat, with young players taking their opportunity and leaving their mark on the first team.
“They’ve done okay,” Last, speaking to Hull Live, said on the young trio, who are expected to feature once against Huddersfield Giants this Saturday afternoon. “Logan got the Player of the Month award again. He has shown he is more than capable of holding his own in Super League in the position that comes with a lot of responsibility.
“There are areas of his game that he knows he needs to improve and he’s working on those areas, but I think he’s shown his tenacity and his ability to carry the ball. He’s dangerous when he gets around the middle of the field and he tests those big blokes.
“I’ve been really pleased with Will Kirby. He’s shown that he is capable of playing big minutes. He played in the middle last week and he’s also played on the edge. Will has done a good job.
“And then Lloyd, he’s like his brother (Callum Kemp) – they are both really, really competitive. I thought he had a strong game last week. He did a good job. He competes every week, no matter whether that’s reserves or first team, and that’s a credit to him as a young man.”
One of Hull’s long-term aims is to bring in youth of a certain standard, with players that can make up the lion’s share of their first-team squad in future seasons to come. They know the benefits that reality entails, from salary cap dispensations to recruitment and retention – everything – and are hoping to make it all bear fruit – and all despite the ongoing challenges the first team faces.
“”They are being exposed to Super League and that is only going to benefit us moving forward but I think it’s a balance,” Last said. “We need to make sure that they’re good enough and we need to make sure that we get some experience and some quality around them to help them achieve their full potential.
“It’s very difficult when you go into a team that is a little bit low on confidence, and then when you put too many of those young lads in at the same time with not much experience around them, that can harm their confidence and their ability to fulfil that potential.
“I know that Wigan do it well, but Jack Farrimond, for example, is going in behind a forward pack full of international players. That makes it easier. Their model also works.
“They’ve got a very good system at Robin Park. Their training setup is top-notch, as good as there is in the game, and what we need to do is make sure that we get everything right, get recruitment at the top end right, and then put facilities in place and blood those kids that have got potential alongside those senior experienced players. That’s only going to benefit us in the long run.”