The Hull FC young gun on his time at full-back, playing centre, his critics, soul searching, and the team’s response at Bradford.
Davy Litten is back in his element in the Hull FC centre spot after what was, by his own admission, a tough spell at full-back – not that a couple of errors were ever going to get a good man down.
With that bit of swagger about him and the right attitude to boot, Litten, ever-present in the Hull side so far this season, is only looking forward.
After a couple of games at full-back, the position the Hull-born ace burst onto the scene in back in 2023, Litten has returned to his centre role as the Black and Whites’ top metre-maker, ball-carrier, and try-scorer this year.
The numbers don’t lie; there’s been plenty of good in his game, and only just turning 23 years old earlier this month, there’s plenty more to come.
“I feel like I can really offer something to the side in that centre position,” Litten, speaking to Hull Live, said. “I’m really loving it; the battles come up one on one, and I’m really enjoying them. I just want to get my hands on the ball as much as I can and offer something to the team.
“Obviously, I had a bit of a tough patch playing at full-back, but I still loved it in that spot. I was priding myself on effort, high energy, and all that sort of stuff, and it probably allowed me to release that a little bit more.
“Unfortunately, there were a few tough errors and probably a lack of experience in that position. I played there in the academy and a bit of Super League, but I hadn’t played there for a while. It was a tough spot, but getting back in the centre spot feels like home for me. Long may that continue.”
Brushing aside his critics, Litten was aware of the noise at the time but was determined to still do his thing. He continued: “Obviously, some people just see one thing in the game, and suddenly you’re rubbish, and you’re not a good player, and you’re not to the standard of Super League, but I don’t really listen to the outside noise.
“I listen to my peers, the coaches, my close family, and my friends – they’re the people who matter to me, and I think, obviously, there were some errors, but I always pride myself on 110% effort, and that’s always going to be there no matter what position I play.
“It was a tough couple of games but they were games that probably moulded me into the player I am today. Obviously back in the day, playing full-back, that’s what I was, but it’s centre now.
“I just love playing for this club and I love working hard for the boys. We’ve got a really good group and a really good connection. I love them all to bits, so, yeah, there’s one thing that I’ve always had out there, and that’s 110% effort. That will never change.”
Litten will be part of a Hull side looking for a big response at Bradford Bulls on Sunday afternoon. The Black and Whites had a disappointing defeat to Toulouse to stomach last time out, with the young back admitting there’s been a bit of soul-searching in the week off since.
“We’ve had a few days off since the Toulouse game but the result didn’t help – I’ve been sulking through the week,” Litten said. “But we’ve got to move past it now.
“You can’t dwell on it, but you’ve got to be accountable for what it was. For us as a playing group and, obviously, the staff as well, we’re trying to come to the bottom of why it happened.
“We’ve had to do a lot of soul searching, but we’ve done that now; we’ve had a bit of time off and a bit of a mental recharge. We trained yesterday (Tuesday), and it was a good session, and we’ve just got to move forward. That’s in the past now, and we’ve got to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
“We’ve got to get some good preparation in this week now and then go headfirst into the Bradford game. Obviously, it’s a very tough challenge; Kurt (Haggerty) is a good coach and they’re a good side in their own right. It should be a good game.”
Rising to the challenge, it’s consistency Hull are searching for now, with Andy Last laying down the gauntlet to his players after the Toulouse defeat. ‘Good players turn up every week’ was his message post-match, and it’s something Litten has taken on board.
“First and foremost, it’s the truth, isn’t it?” Litten said on Last’s comments. “Good players need to turn up for 80 minutes every week. It doesn’t matter what has gone on throughout the week; the 80 minutes on gameday are the most important of the week.
“I saw those comments and it riles you up and makes you want to respond to what he’s saying, and obviously, that comes with your preparation and how you react to the game, and we should all be fired up from that last game.
“We know what’s at stake with our position and the season ahead. The rugby league rollercoaster is mad and if we had got the win against Toulouse, it would have been a lot different, but at the end of the day, we didn’t, so the two points on the weekend are massive.
“That goes for any two points. We’ve just got to attack it and go full steam ahead into the game. As a group, we’re looking forward to that challenge. It’s only early on in the week now, and we’ve got a lot of preparation to be doing, and come Sunday, we will be ready to go.”
And as for his top try scorer tag, Litten, who joked back at Salford he’d take the mantle from Lewis Martin, added: “There’s always some seriousness in a joke, but no, I just want to win.
“I’d take no tries in the season just to be in the winning side every week. Obviously, the tries are nice, and I get to celebrate and carry on a bit, but winning is the most important thing. We all just need to start putting it on the pitch and perform consistently and we’ll see then where that takes us.”