Of course, we’re now, all looking forward to the 2025 Betfred Super League season, if truth be known I’ve probably been looking forward to it since February of this year, such has been the misery poured upon my team and the Old Faithful supporters who follow them here, there and everywhere.

But I want to introduce a new angle here for Hull FC supporters to get genuinely excited about, which relates to the excellent youth development that the club are, now at least, undoubtedly blessed with at this point in time.

Here, I am going to give you at least an example of the Hull FC squad for 2025 (I believe there is another new arrival imminent, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet, so I will leave said new player out for the moment, just in case): Fullbacks: Jack Walker, Logan Moy, Zak Hardaker, Davy Litten, Jordan Rapana. Wingers: Jordan Rapana, Tom Briscoe, Lewis Martin, Davy Litten, Harvey Barron. Centres: Ed Chamberlain, Zak Hardaker, Davy Litten, Tom Briscoe, Jordan Rapana, Ryan Westerman. Half Backs: Aidan Sezer, Jordan Abdull, Jack Charles, Cade Cust, Callum Kemp, Logan Moy. Props: Herman Ese’Ese, Jack Ashworth, Yusuf Aydin, Matty Laidlaw, Brad Fash, Will Gardiner, John Asiata, Ligi Sao. 2nd rowers: Jordan Lane, Jed Cartwright, Brad Fash, Ligi Sao, Nick Staveley, Ed Chamberlain, Oli Holmes, Zach Jebson. Loose Forwards: John Asiata, Jordan Abdull, Jordan Lane, Yusuf Aydin, Matty Laidlaw, Will Gardiner. Hookers: Amir Bourouh, Cade Cust, Logan Moy, Jordan Lane, Denive Balmforth.

Now take away the home-grown talent that has certainly put its stamp on Super League in 2024, as shown below:

Fullbacks: Jack Walker, Zak Hardaker, Jordan Rapana. Wingers: Jordan Rapana, Tom Briscoe (who was originally developed in his early career at Hull). Centres: Ed Chamberlain, Zak Hardaker, Jordan Rapana, Tom Briscoe. Half Backs: Aidan Sezer, Jordan Abdull (another developed by Hull in his early career), Cade Cust. Props: Herman Ese’Ese, Jack Ashworth, Yusuf Aydin, Brad Fash (breakthrough in 2016), John Asiata, Ligi Sao: 2nd Rowers: Jordan Lane (Breakthrough in 2016), Jed Cartwright, Brad Fash, Ligi Sao, Ed Chamberlain, Oli Holmes. Loose Forwards: John Asiata, Jordan Abdull, Jordan Lane, Yusuf Aydin. Hookers: Amir Bourouh, Cade Cust, Jordan Lane.

You would probably put Davy Litten on the outskirts of the squad for 2025 without this season that has just finished, but he would certainly still be one who would be selected to cover for injuries/suspensions, as opposed to being an alternative choice for maybe a player who is out of form for instance, which is definitely the position he is in now, if indeed he isn’t first choice, which he is more than capable of being.

There will undoubtedly be plenty of others rolling off the Hull FC production line as well right now, with a clear, defined pathway from grassroots to first team action, something which Hull FC have carefully developed and nurtured, to bring it to the point it is at now, providing the club with already very developed talent, it has taken a great deal of time, but it is now starting to produce the sort of results that has always been its aim.

In 2015, Lee Radford took a youthful Hull FC side to Wigan in what was known as the Super 8s, and with a team that included seven young reserves players, they frightened the living daylights out of a star-studded Wigan side, with the decisive try scored in the last minute by a certain Joe Burgess, at the time it was proclaimed as a moral victory for the Airlie Birds who were meant to be mere lambs to the slaughterbecause of the average age of the team that took the field that night, before they proved what youthful exhuberance can achieve, coming within a whisker of what would have been the shock result of arguably that whole decade.

However, that was just one match, while this year Hull were having to select 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10 or 11 reserves players in their match day squads. Hull’s leading try-scorer this year was 18-year-old Lewis Martin and their top goal-kicker was 18-year-old Jack Charles, does anybody else notice a recurring theme here?

With additions to the squad like Asiata, Hardaker, Cust, Sezer and Rapana etc, it is sure to be a much stronger, more competitive Hull FC side that takes on the 2025 season, but there will also be a very clear benefit from 2024 for everyone to see as well, when the likes of Moy, Martin, Barron, Litten and Charles etc are called upon, just because they can be, as ready-made replacements whatever the circumstances.

I believe it is very much fair to say that Hull FC started their squad strengthening for next season, long before any new players signed on the dotted line and for that, Hull FC deserve to be applauded, it’s very easy to just go out and buy success, it takes a lot more, hard graft to develop your future from the grassroots upwards.

I’m not saying that the likes of Moy, Charles and Litten etcwill play first team regularly next season, but the undeniable fact is that they have proven themselves capable of it, they will have learnt a lot of very harsh lessons this year and, along with the new faces at the club, they will certainly raise the bar next season and provide plenty of competition for places that the club wouldn’t have had without them and without their experiences this year.