Hull FC have signed Super League trio Jack Walker, Josh Simm and Ellis Longstaff on loan deals ahead of Sunday’s Magic Weekend Derby clash with Hull KR.
With an unprecedented number of injuries and suspensions taking the total number of players unavailable this weekend to 13, the Black and Whites have moved quickly to strengthen their squad with Super League experience.
Walker, 22, is an England Knights full back who has already accumulated just shy of 80 first-grade appearances for Leeds Rhinos, where he is a Super League Grand Final winner.
Fellow Knights representative Longstaff joins from Warrington Wolves where he has impressed playing in the back row and through the middle.
The 20-year-old scored on his England Knights debut against Jamaica at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle last autumn and made his club debut against Hull FC in 2020.
Meanwhile, pacey outside back Simm, who scored 59 tries in 43 games across Saints Under 19s’ 2018 and 2019 Academy Championship campaigns, made his Super League debut for St Helens in 2019.
The centre, who can also feature on the wing, scored a brace against the Black & Whites at the MKM Stadium in Round Two this season, helping take his try-scoring tally for the 2022 season to four in seven games.
Speaking to hullfc.com, Head Coach Brett Hodgson said:
“We’re pleased to be able to add three hungry players with Super League experience to our roster ahead of this weekend’s game – we’re obviously doing it tough at the moment in terms of injuries and suspensions, but these three players will bring us some quality in the areas that we are lacking bodies.
“We will also be promoting some young players from within our own system who will be available to play at the weekend, but Jack, Josh and Ellis will help compliment that with a bit of Super League experience under their belts.
“Jack’s qualities speak for themselves with a Super League winners medal to his name, and eighty appearances for the Rhinos at such a young age – he’ll bring us some pace and creativity at the back.
“We’ve seen Josh’s quality for ourselves with his performance against us at home earlier this season – he’s an exciting player who is relishing the opportunity.
“And Ellis is a really tough cookie – he’s highly rated across the competition and adds some energy and a strong defensive focus to our pack. He is another player who has shown plenty of progress at a young age, emphasised by his selection for the England Knights recently.”
Jack Walker will wear jersey number 36, Josh Simm will wear jersey number 37, and Ellis Longstaff will wear jersey number 38.
Walker, Simm and Longstaff will join Brett Hodgson’s squad for tomorrow’s training session at the Jacuzzi® Elite Performance Centre as preparations continue for Sunday’s Derby clash with the Robins at Magic Weekend in the North East.
They will be joined by several members of the club’s Rising Stars youth programme who will also be available for selection this weekend.
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