Hull FC have named over 110 of the regions brightest young rugby league players in their 2021 Centre of Excellence roster, including their academy and scholarship squads!
To mark the return of academy and college rugby this month, the Black & Whites will share a series of updates regarding the club’s talent pathways, starting with who will represent the club this season.
The club’s recently introduced Centre of Excellence, the overarching pathway for the club’s development programmes, combines top-class coaching and facilities with tailored education and mentorship, strengthening the route from grassroots rugby to first-team.
The Category 1 ‘Outstanding’ rated Centre of Excellence now boasts four squads – scholarship squad, development squad, elite squad and academy squad – as well as a Rising Stars programme for players on the cusp of breaking into the first-team.
The club intend to continue their Reserve team when Covid protocols allow, and in addition will also oversee the University of Hull rugby league programme which offers exit routes into higher education.
Whilst the 2020 academy season was abandoned due to Coronavirus, the club’s elite squad were crowned champions of the National Colleges League in their debut season – winning all but one game.
The roster for the new season includes 112 players aged between 14 and 19, including some of the brightest young talent from the region and further afield – including new recruits from across Yorkshire, Lancashire and as far afield as Wales.
The group includes nine players who have already represented their country (England 7, Wales 2), with eight players currently spending pre-season with the first-team squad.
Academy graduates Ben McNamara and Jude Ferreira are already on first-team contracts, but can still feature for the academy this season, whilst promising young stars like Davey Litten and Welshman Jamarie Chatham have progressed through the club’s Centre of Excellence work over the last 12-months.
Further work to enhance the club’s national footprint will continue over the coming months with exciting plans progressing for a number of regional talent hubs, including Yorkshire, North-West and the Midlands, amongst other areas, whilst locally the club have been actively driving the new-look City of Hull & District Rugby League movement which has already recorded at 12% increase in participation in the sport.
In addition, the Centre of Excellence programme also boasts a women and girls rugby league pathway from U12s to open age, with the senior squad playing in the Championship in 2021, alongside disability rugby league squads, including Hull’s championship winning wheelchair team and the introduction of a PDRL squad.
The club’s network of education partners also bring a wealth of experience from the sports sector, having worked with the likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace, Leeds United, Leicester Tigers, Bristol Bears and Yorkshire Cricket.
Whilst training is overseen by international coaches, including England Academy coach Danny Wilson, the club’s education tutors also understand the pathway first hand, being made up of current or former professional rugby league players.
Hull FC Chief Executive, James Clark, said:
“We want a pathway that can attract and develop the best talent locally and from further afield, as well as a system committed to enhancing the grassroots development of our sport – so this is a big stride forward.
“We aim to develop the next generation of players, coaches and officials, both male and female, and give them the best chance to reach the first-team or embark on a career in professional sport.
“A record number of junior players on our roster highlights the strength of the programme so far, combining international standard coaches, ever-improving facilities and a high quality sports curriculum.”
He continued: “The work is really only just beginning. We’re enhancing our national footprint over the next 12 months to help grow the game and attract the best talent from further afield, which has traditionally been a challenge.
“We’re also actively refurbishing our facilities, despite the financial challenges of Covid, with exciting discussions underway to deliver new facilities befitting of an elite development pathway.
“All this work, coupled with the fantastic strides made in the community and schools games, is something we can all be very proud of and we are determined to work harder than ever to see this bear fruit of the coming years.”
For more information on our Centre of Excellence programme and opportunities to enrol if you have an interest in pursuing a career in rugby league – click here
The full roster of our 2021 Centre of Excellence can be found below.
Hull FC Scholarship Squad
Year 10 – Under 15s
- Callum Barfield (Skirlaugh / Marvell College)
- Owen Briggs (Hull Wyke / Hessle High0
- Stan Broadbent (Skirlaugh / Hull Trinity Academy)
- Jack Charles (Beverley Braves / Longcroft)
- Lennon Clark (Hull Wyke / Malet Lambert)
- Blake Collier (Skirlaugh / Marvell College)
- Roman Dawson (Skirlaugh /Malet Lambert)
- Ryan Donkin (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert)
- Jack Horsfield (Hull Wyke / Sirius West)
- Ben Johnson (Hull Wyke / Wolfreton)
- Will Kirby (Hull Wyke / Wolfreton)
- Ellis Lowthorpe (Hull Wyke / St Mary’s College)
- Alfie Maclean (West Hull / Cottingham High)
- Theo Roberts (Skirlaugh / South Holderness)
- Billy Thompson (East Hull / Archbishop Sentamu)
- Ryan Westerman (Beverley Braves / Beverley Grammar)
- Sonny Wilkinson (West Hull / South Hunsley)
Year 11 – Under 16s
- Kye Armstrong (West Hull / Kelvin Hall)
- Alex Banks (Torfaen Tigers / The John Frost School)
- Lennon Bursell (East Hull / St Mary’s College)
- Rhys Cahill (Bridgend Blue Bulls / Llangynwyd)
- Tommy Cochran (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert)
- Jamie Collins (N/A / Wolfreton)
- Sam Dulson (Beverley Braves / Beverley Grammar)
- Beau English (Beverley Braves / Longcroft)
- Frankie Fawcett (Skirlaugh / South Hunsley)
- Henry Fenn (Beverley Braves / Beverley Grammar)
- Josh Hanson (Bridgeend Blue Bulls / St Michael’s)
- Mackenzie Harman (Skirlaugh / Hull Trinity House)
- Sully Medforth (East Hull / South Holderness)
- Logan Moy (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert)
- Alfie Oldridge (Scunthorpe RU / Frederick Gough)
- Tommy Pendergast (West Hull / Kelvin Hall)
- Logan Radford (East Hull / South Holderness)
- Calvin Sandhu (Featherstone Lions / Castleford Academy)
- Callum Shaw (West Hull / Sirius West)
- Michael Sowden (Holderness / Withernsea)
- Charlie Stipetic (Skirlaugh / Kingswood)
- Aiden Sugden (Skirlaugh / Winifred Holtby)
- Tommy Uscroft (East Hull / Sirius North)
- Jenson Wainwright-Matson (Skirlaugh – South Holderness)
- Ellis Welburn (Hull Wyke / Winifred Holtby)
- Brandon-Ellis Wright (East Hull / St Mary’s College)
- Harry Walker (East Hull / St Mary’s College)
Extended Scholarship – Under 17s
- Billy Spryut (Cottingham / Pocklington)
- Davie Vickers (Skirlaugh / Winifred Holtby)
- Jake Smith (Cottingham / Wolfreton)
- Dan Norman (Cottingham / Wolfreton)
- Ellis Cousins (West Hull / Malet Lambert)
Hull FC College Development Squad
- Will Gardiner (Winifred Holtby)
- Kai Ellis-Smith (Malet Lambert)
- Harvey Newlove
- Deane Birch (Malet Lambert)
- Alfie Morgan (Sirius West)
- Reece Hudson (Winifred Holtby)
- Sam McAuley (Sirius West)
- Jackson Davies-Barker (Sirius West)
- Kai Green (Sirius West)
- Darryl Richardson (Archbishop Sentamu)
- Connor O’Kelly (South Holderness)
- Ben Slade (Bridlington)
- Sage Winstanley (Sirius West)
- Macauley Cromack (Archbishop Sentamu)
- Jason Hunter (Winifred Holtby)
- Tom Greatwood (Wolfreton)
- Tyler Conroy
- Harry Scaife
- Owen Hagues (Kelvin Hall)
- Keiron Keating (Trinity House)
- Cameron Pontin
- Wez Holmes (Sirius West)
- Bailey Green (Sirius West)
Hull FC College Elite Squad
- Harry Trulson (Hull Dockers / Beverley Grammar)
- Matty Laidlaw (Hull Dockers / Malet Lambert)
- Gabriel Romanowski (Myton Warriors / Sirius North)
- Finley Yeaman (Skirlaugh / Winifred Holtby)
- Zach Jebson (Cottingham / Hornsea)
- Callum Beety (West Hull / Cottingham)
- Keegan Gregg (Skirlaugh / Winifred Holtby)
- Connor Gilbey (All Black / Trinity House Hull)
Hull FC Academy Squad
The Hull FC Academy is proudly sponsored by G&J Staffing.
- Charlie Waites (Skirlaugh / Marvell College)
- Kieron Masike (West Hull / Kelvin Hall)
- Charlie Severs (Heworth / Huntingdon)
- Owen Worthington (Criggleston All Blacks / Kettlethorpe)
- Sam Richards (West Hull / South Hunsley)
- Lewis Martin (West Hull / South Holderness)
- Junior Mafi (West Hull / Kelvin Hall)
- Joel Speed (West Hull / Cottingham) *
- Callum Rutland (Heworth / Archbishop Holgates)
- Leon Watkinson (Heworth / Joseph Rowntree)
- Aiden Burrell (Cottingham / South Holderness)
- Alex Gibson (Skirlaugh / Winifred Holtby)
- Harrison Petrie (Cottingham / South Holderness)
- Jacob Hookem (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert) *
- Harvey Barron (Beverley Braves / Beverley Grammar) *
- Davey Litten (Cottingham / Cottingham)
- Tom Jackson (Cottingham / Marvell College)
- Will Cohen (Beverley Braves / Beverley Grammar)
- Jermarie Chatham (Torfean Tigers / Cwmbran)**
- Abdullah Balogun (Milford / Carr Manor)
- Leon Stewart (West Hull / Sirius West)*
- Ryan Morley (Milford / Abbey Grange)
- Marcus Walker (Heworth / Woldgate)
- Ben McNamara (Skirlaugh / Pocklington) *
- Kai Tyson (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert) *
- Jude Ferreira (West Hull / Hull Collegiate)*
- George Cochran (Skirlaugh / Malet Lambert)
- Will Wallis (Beverley Braves / Hull Collegiate)
- Ewan Badham (West Wales (Milford Haven)**
- Manoa Wacokecoke (Cottingham / Wolfreton)
- Brad Radford (Cottingham / South Holderness)
*England Youth International
**Wales Youth International
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