The Black and Whites are gearing up for another top six push.
Harvey Barron is ready to build on the ‘foundation’ Hull FC set this year and ensure that the side are a play-off outfit in 2026.
The Black and Whites were much improved last season, but they still missed out on a top six spot. However, that disappointment serves as motivation for what’s to come, with Barron driven to take the next step and cement a career first.
Making his Super League debut at Toulouse back in 2022, the 22-year-old is yet to taste the competition’s play-offs – a fact he wants to set straight in 2026. And for the flying winger, who had a stern season under John Cartwright, it would cap natural progression for a resurgent club on its way back up.
“That foundation has been set,” Barron told Hull Live. “It’s about keeping the high standards up now that we started with last year and keeping building on that.
“We want to get in the play-offs now. We’ve not done that since I’ve been in the first team, so it’s a big thing that I want to achieve. I want to play finals football at the end of the year.
“We believe we are good enough to do that. It’s just about being consistent and getting results on a more consistent basis.”
Entering what will be his fifth season in the first team, Barron is now every bit the Super League player, growing in size and stature since his try-scoring debut in the South of France three years ago. Coming off the bench at Stade Ernest Wallon, it’ll be a venue Hull return to next year after Toulouse’s promotion to Super League.
“I just remember watching the clock,” Barron recalled of his debut. “I was on the bench and I was watching the clock, hoping that, at some point, I would get on. I think I must have been on for the last 20 minutes.
“The try I scored – it all went a bit quick. I just kicked the ball ahead, chased it, hacked it on and got it down. It all happened in a flash. You don’t think too much about it – it just happens.”
As for expansion, Barron is backing Super League to grow from France to the USA, with Hull in the driving seat to feature in Las Vegas come 2027. And for the winger, who went to Sin City with his good friend Lewis Martin this off-season, it would be somewhat familiar territory.
“It was unbelievable,” Barron said on his recent Vegas trip. “I couldn’t believe it. It was for Lew’s 21st birthday, really. We went with a load of his schoolmates, but yeah, it was unbelievable.
“If we get locked in for 2027, it will be a great experience for everyone involved. It looked unreal last season watching on tele. Everything is just bigger, brighter, and faster – hopefully we get the chance to play there.
“It’s something to look forward to but the goal now is for us to win games – we don’t want to look too far ahead. It’s about what’s happening right now. We had a good year, but we didn’t get in the play-offs, so that’s the minimum goal for us now. We want to be a top six team.“