It’s almost three years since Harvey Barron made a try-scoring debut for Hull FC away in the French heat. That day, it was a new venue for the club, who paved their way to victory over Toulouse Olympique at the Stade Ernest Wallon.
But Barron, still only 22 years old, is wise enough to know it’s not always plain sailing. In fact, the Hull academy product has had his fair share of adversity, but he’s always bounced back.
That was the case from his home debut and second Super League appearance against Wakefield Trinity – Thursday night’s opponents – with the then teenager having a tough night at the office, and in particular under the high ball.
But now in 2025, it’s fair to say the tall, athletic winger has come on leaps and bounds. Better equipped as both a player and as a person, Barron, handed the number two shirt this year and now very much part of Hull’s first team under John Cartwright, is in a good place, and he’s determined to keep it that way.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s clash, a big one in the race for the Super League play-offs this year, Barron said: “I remember walking out and all the fans were there, my family were in the stands, and then I don’t remember much other than the balls going up in the air and then bouncing all around me. I try to forget the rest of it.
“I was nervous as anything for that game, but it’s in the past now. I’m a different person and a different player from back then. It doesn’t cross my mind.
“I just move on from setbacks now. I know if I’ve done wrong or if I’ve had a bad game. I watch it back, learn from it and move on. You can’t dwell on things.
“I also feel like I’m in a miles better place. I had a few bad games in my debut year, and it was quite hard for me to get over them, but now I know it’s part of the game – you just have to move on and get your head right for the next game.”
Barron has had a strong 2025 so far, appearing in 15 games and scoring nine tries. The only time he’s been absent from the team was through injury, with the winger kicking on and proving his worth.
A big part of that is down to the personnel now at the club, with leadership and experience sought, and none more so than Zak Hardaker. The veteran, written off wherever he goes, has had a superb first year at Hull, but it’s not just on the pitch where he excels.
“He’s great,” Barron continued. “I’m next to him in the changing room, and then the first game when we went to Catalans, I was roommates with him. We were sat on the night talking rubbish really, talking about a lot of stuff about the game and away from the game. He’s really down-to-earth, and he’s a winner – every club he’s been at, he’s been a winner. He’s great to learn from.
“He’s played every position; he knows everything, and he’s played at a high level. He’s not played full-back in God knows how long; Carty has thrown him in, and he’s got man of the match. He’s a true professional.
“He’s working hard every week trying to be the best player he can be. It rubs off on people when they see him working hard, running for everything, chasing everything, and pushing up for everything. You want to do it as well and match his intensity.”
Hull will look to match Hardaker’s intensity on Thursday. They host a Trinity side that is flying, but as always, they know it’s their own game that counts.
Still well poised to make a dent this year, Hull, much improved, know if they match their effort with game smarts elsewhere, victories are in their grasp.
“I think we started really well,” Barron said. “A lot of people had us bottom of the table, bottom three, or whatever, but we’ve shown that we’re a better team. We’ve got a lot of things going right off the field; it’s amazing the strides that we’ve made. We know we’re going through a bit of a tricky patch at the minute, but it’s just a matter of time before we put it right.
“The fundamentals of our game haven’t been great over the last month or so, but once we get that right, we can start to build games up.
“We’ve beaten some good teams this year. We just need to keep our completion high and back our defence, which I think we’ve been pretty good at.
“We’ll be ready to go on Thursday. It’s a big game; table-wise, they’re also playing well at the minute, and they’re beating everyone well. We just need to turn up the best we can, and I’m sure that will get us over the line. We need to tackle hard, carry hard, and get the fundamentals and the basics of our game right.”