New recruit Amir Bourouh has reflected on his first week with the Black & Whites, describing a “fresh vibe” around the club in the opening week of pre-season training.
The young hooker, who has joined the club from Salford Red Devils for 2025, was one of three new faces in the playing squad that returned to the University of Hull on Tuesday, alongside Jordan Abdull and Cade Cust, with other new faces set to arrive over the coming weeks.
Speaking to hullfc.com, Bourouh said: “It’s been a really tough, but enjoyable start to pre-season – it’s been great to get around my new teammates and coaching staff and start to build a bond with them.
“There’s been a really fresh vibe around the place this week – obviously there are a lot of new face across the coaching staff and the players too, as well as a lot of new developments going on behind-the-scenes across the club too so it feels like an exciting time to be arriving here.
“A lot of new ideas and structures have already been put into place since Carty (John Cartwright) arrived – it feels like everybody is already on the same page.”
He continued: “From speaking to a lot of the lads who have been here in previous pre-seasons, they certainly feel the intensity of the first week has stepped up a decent amount. Everybody is on the same page and excited for these new beginnings.
“This is the most important few weeks of the year in terms of setting those standards for the rest of the campaign. If you don’t push yourself in these early weeks and set your bar high, you’ll see that further down the line. But it has certainly been a positive start and we’re on the right track to fix some of the things which didn’t work here last season, which is what the club needs.”
Looking ahead to the 2025 campaign, Bourouh will be aiming for regular game time, but insists the depth in quality across Hull’s hooker options will aid the development of both himself and his teammates.
“Regular game time will be important for me to develop as a player, I’ll be fighting to earn my place in pre-season, and then hopefully to keep my spot when the games come around. I just want to build week on week and I think the coaching staff we have in place here are perfect to help me do that.
“I certainly feel like I’m going to be kept on my toes with some good competition for the number nine position, and that’s perfect for all of us; me, Cade (Cust) and Denive (Balmforth). There is no time to slack off or let standards slip when there’s that sort of depth and another person hungry to step in and prove what they’re about. We’ll all be striving to make each other better players.”
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