Hull FC are delighted to reveal the ten young players to step up from the Centre of Excellence’s Scholarship team to the Academy.
The ten youngsters have all caught the eye whilst playing for the Black & Whites’ Scholarship team across the last two years, and they have worked hard to earn a place in the club’s Academy team for the 2024 season.
Looking to help build on a positive couple of years for the club’s Academy, in which the Under 18s have reached the play-off semi-finals twice, the ten youngsters have already started training with Michael Shenton’s side to acclimatise to the change in intensity and quality.
They were all officially unveiled as Hull FC Academy players at Saturday’s home Super League tie with Leeds Rhinos, in front of a crowd of over 11,000 at the MKM Stadium, where they will one day hope to represent the Black & Whites.
Aspiring to follow in the footsteps of some of the brightest youngsters to have taken the Centre of Excellence path in recent years, the stories of Davy Litten, Harvey Barron and Nick Staveley will inspire, having all represented Hull FC at first-grade in 2023.
Alongside the club’s Academy side, the programme also features Scholarship (U15 & U16), Reserves (U21), Hull FC Sports College (Elite & Development), Girls (U12, U14 & U16), Women, and Disability sides (LDRL, PDRL, Wheelchair) – the entire Category 1 ‘Outstanding’ rated Centre of Excellence programme is based alongside the first-team at the University of Hull.
Hull FC Head of Youth Pete Riding said: “We are all incredibly proud of the progress that has been made by the ten young men who have been rewarded with the step up to our Academy programme.
“Not only will the Academy programme develop them as Rugby League players, but it will also help shape them as people, enhancing attributes such as attitude, work ethic and personality with an outstanding support network around them at the Centre of Excellence.
“We are really excited to work with this new crop of youngsters, who have shown real glimpses of talent as players on our Scholarship programme. I’m looking forward to seeing how they now embrace this change of moving up to the Academy side, and it has been incredibly satisfying seeing how quickly they have bedded into our Under 18s team since beginning training with the side only a couple of weeks ago.”
Hull FC’s Academy is proudly sponsored by Pearson Electrical.
The full list of new Academy players for the 2024 season can be found below:
Kieran Calvert – Skirlaugh Bulls / Kingswood Academy
Callum Kemp – Hull Wyke / St Mary’s College
Lloyd Kemp – Hull Wyke / St Mary’s College
Lennon Nicholson – Hull Wyke / Kingswood Academy
Ellis Opie – Hull Wyke / Sirius Academy North
Callum Smith – Skirlaugh Bulls / The Marvell College
Alistair Swyer – Skirlaugh / Holderness Academy
Mason Tempest – Hull Wyke / South Hunsley School
Joseph Thompson – Hull Wyke / Howden School
Jon Turner – Hull Wyke / Beverley Grammar School
The club would like to congratulate their new intake of Academy players and wishes them the very best of luck with their development here at the Black & Whites!
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