Hull FC have included eight exciting young players in their first-team squad for pre-season training, as part of their ‘Rising Stars’ programme.
The ‘Rising Stars’ group is an extension of the club’s highly regarded Centre of Excellence programme, which provides a tailored pathway for some the club’s most promising young players to hone their skills and bridge the gap between first-team and the club’s emerging talent pathways.
Five players retain their place in the squad having impressed last season, including Jacob Hookem (half back), Aidan Burrell (prop), and Marcus Walker (utility back) who all made their senior debuts in 2021.
They’re joined again by academy graduate Davy Litten (full back) and pacey England Youth star Harvey Barron (wing).
Three of the club’s existing Under 18s academy players will also get the chance to progress having caught the eye of head coach, Brett Hodgson, with Charlie Severs (back row), Zach Jebson (back row) and Nick Staveley (loose forward) also training with the senior squad for the first time.
17-year-old Jebson is from Hull and joined the club from Cottingham Tigers, having originally been spotted on Hull FC’s talent transfer programme playing rugby union.
Former Heworth junior Severs comes from York and is another strong, line-running back rower, with both players standing at over 6ft 1in tall.
They’re joined by talented loose forward Nick Staveley who the club swooped to sign from Warrington Wolves earlier this season.
The sought-after ball playing forward came through the ranks at Stanningley in Leeds and earned representatives honours earlier this year playing for Yorkshire, alongside team mate Hookem.
Hull FC head coach, Brett Hodgson, is looking forward to working with the promising group of players.
“We’re excited to have a couple more academy prospects added into the group again and continue the development of those who joined us last year,” he said.
“The new faces have made a really positive start in this week, whilst the existing ‘Rising Stars’ have been retained because they excelled in their position last season and have shown signs of the right skill set, mentality and body type to have an opportunity to succeed at this level.
“We’re looking forward to working with them more closely, as well as seeing the influence that Michael [Shenton] and Kirk [Yeaman] can have on them as their mentors, as well as our other staff.”
The progress of the latest batch of young players provides further evidence of the success of the club’s growing Centre of Excellence programme, which is now home to over 100 of the region’s best young players.
The Centre of Excellence provides high quality coaching and development, elite facilities and tailored education opportunities for all players in the club’s emerging talent pathway from age 15 to 21, providing an unrivalled route from grassroots to first-team.
The ‘Outstanding’ rated Centre of Excellence boasts four main squads – reserves, academy, development and scholarship – plus a college team, wheelchair rugby league, LDRL and women’s, whilst the club also coach the University of Hull rugby league team which offers links into higher education.
Over 40 full-time and volunteer staff were recently joined by new Head of Emerging Talent, Michael Shenton, whilst three regional development centres are also set to be announced this autumn, alongside additional personnel and new facilities.
Hull FC Chief Executive, James Clark, believes the foundations are being laid for a bright future.
“The COE and programmes like Rising Stars are a major part of our long term strategic vision for the club over the next 3-5 years and we have an aspiration to see more players progress and excel through our emerging talent pathway,” he enthused.
“Despite the ongoing constraints we have faced throughout the pandemic, we continue to prioritise investment in our youth programme, facilities and personnel as we want to give the next generation the best possible opportunity to develop as young rugby league players and young people.
He added, “We still have plenty more work to do and over the next few months we’ll have further updates as to how we intend to improve and expand the programme which we’re very excited about, as I’m sure our players, staff and supporters will be too.”
The club can also confirm that Joel Speed and Will Wallis have both been released from the club’s Rising Star programme – we would like to thank both players for their efforts, and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours in the sport or beyond.
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