Michael Shenton has expressed his pride in the eight Hull FC youngsters named in the Yorkshire Academy squad for their second meeting with Lancashire Academy later this month.
The Head of Emerging Talent is halfway into his maiden season with the Black & Whites, overseeing an unbeaten Academy run so far in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Reserves have performed stoutly this season, with a young crop of players taking on a number of players with Super League and NRL experience.
Hull FC have eight representatives in the Yorkshire Academy squad that will face Lancashire Academy in the second game of a three-match War of the Roses series at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday 26th June.
Denive Balmforth, Matty Laidlaw, Lewis Martin, Sully Medforth and Manoa Wacokecoke will be joined in the Yorkshire camp next week by Black & White Academy comrades Kye Armstrong, Nick Staveley and Charlie Severs.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside’s Tim Steere and Paul Cooke on Sportstalk last night, Shenton explained the philosophy that he and his colleagues at the Centre of Excellence are striving to create for the youngsters.
“You want to create a legacy where you are bringing players through at the standard where they can represent their country and their county. That was one of the goals I was given when I came into this role, so it’s great to have those lads involved in the Yorkshire squad,” he explained.
“At the moment, I’m instilling a lot of stuff around standards and expectations, but also showing these guys what it takes to be a successful rugby league player.
“These boys are totally buying into the programme we have put in place and it’s paying off on the field.
“They’re working hard on their game, they’ve got a purpose about what they are doing and they are very driven. To get that buy in from the boys and that’s all I can ask for from them. The rewards for the incredible work that some of the lads have been putting in are showing now with their rep selections.”
One of the eight players named in the Yorkshire squad has already made their Hull FC debut, whilst three more are part of the club’s Rising Stars group that trains with the first-team squad.
But all eight have been regulars in Shenton’s Academy side that have won all seven of their fixtures in 2022, earning the right to represent their county in the War of the Roses series.
However, the bigger picture is to slowly blood these youngsters into the first-team environment.
When asked if he believes if more young players could make the step up from Academy to first-grade in the foreseeable future, Shenton said: “I’d hope so. There’s definitely a couple with the potential to do that. It absolutely takes time, but I’m 100% on board with what the club is telling me about them needing a handful of these boys being ready to fill some spots in the first team over the next few years.
“There’s a hunger within these lads that they want to represent the club. They want what’s best for Hull FC and you can’t beat those kind of club men.
“You talk about Danny Houghton, Richard Horne and Kirk Yeaman. This club deserves those kinds of characters and that’s what we’re working towards with this group of lads.
“We want to make sure that we get as many through to the first team as we can and it’s my job to keep pushing them along.
“Charlie Severs is one of the lads in the Yorkshire set-up. He has just come back from a cheekbone injury, but he was on the plane to Catalans and he warmed up as 18th man. So Brett’s not scared to get a few of them in and around the squad.
“Denive Balmforth, another under-18 player, made his debut just over a month ago and got half an hour on the field and he got a try as well.
“So it’s really good for these boys to get blooded into the team slowly but surely. Hopefully we get to see a few more lads get that opportunity to have a taste at that level over the next one or two years.”
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