Marcus Walker is ready to rip into Hull FC’s pre-season campaign ahead of 2022.
The youngster joined Hull’s senior playing group last pre-season with a handful of fellow academy prospects, where he admits it was an eye-opening experience.
Having made solid progress in 2021, Walker is back with the first team as pre-season training ahead of the 2022 campaign got underway on Monday.
For the first week, it has been Hull’s youngsters and recovering injured players that have reported to the Jacuzzi® Elite Performance Centre, whilst the majority of the squad will return for their first taste of pre-season training this year this Monday.
Having been put through his paces in the first few of days of the schedule, Walker is looking forward to what’s ahead.
“I’m a little bit more prepared for what’s to come over the next few months compared to last year – I’m ready to rip in mentally and physically,” Walker told hullfc.com.
“I know the ins and outs of pre-season training at this level now. I don’t know specifically what we are going to be doing each day, but I have an idea of what’s coming my way over the next twelve weeks and it’s going to be really tough.
“My aim this year is to get another Super League appearance. Getting a flavour of things when I made my debut last year has just given me that added bit of hunger to work even harder for it this pre-season.”
The club’s new Head of Talent Pathways Michael Shenton has been around the Jacuzzi® Elite Performance Centre this week, taking in his new surroundings whilst also helping Hull’s youngsters in the early stages of pre-season.
Shenton will oversee the Black & Whites’ academy and reserve squads in 2022, and Walker believes the appointment will benefit him, personally.
“I was really excited when I saw the appointment earlier in the year,” he said.
“Michael was a world-class player in my position. I know that I will be able to take a lot and learn a lot from his experience and knowledge of the game.
“From my point of view, there couldn’t have been a more suitable appointment for me.
“I had a brief chat with him on day one – nothing too in depth – it was just a polite introduction. From what I’ve seen so far, he seems like a really good guy, which is good for the group.”
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