Hull FC recruitment strategy serving as youth motivation as future path laid out
Hull FC have strategically recruited older statesmen for the 2025 season for two key reasons: firstly, they needed experience, with a very young squad playing out this season, and secondly, they needed mentors for said young players.
Overseeing that recruitment strategy, director of rugby Richie Myler has made inroads to make his plan a reality. And for the likes of Will Kirby, it's there in black and white to see. One of Hull's many rising young players, he has the mentors in John Asiata, Oli Holmes, and Jed Cartwright to help him develop and progress.
They're not roadblocks either, with the reality that in two to three years, Kirby, then 20 going on 21, will be without a shout of making that spot his own. That's the case right through the side, from Ryan Westerman to Zak Hardaker, to Callum Kemp to Aidan Sezer, Jack Charles to Jordan Abdull, Logan Moy to Jordan Rapana, and so on. The challenge is laid out, with Hull's young players looking to grow, but also to be patient and wait for their opportunities.
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"There are some senior blokes coming in who I am very excited to meet, for example, John Asiata and Oli Holmes," Kirby told Hull Live. "There's no better player for us to learn from, players like Zak Hardaker as well. He has won everything, and John is one of the best players in the competition.
"For us all, Ryan (Westerman) Callum Kemp, Charlesly, Hutchie, and everyone else, we're all going to have mentors and people to look up to. That's what Richie's plan is, I think, to make sure we're mentored properly and we're coming into an environment where we can learn. It's not to rush us as well. A few of us have been exposed this year, and we know we need to take our time and make sure we can be the best players we can be.
"We only have to look at some of the people around us. For me, again, I've got Jed Cartwright to look up to. He's a really good player, and he's really helped us with little bits of advice. Just watching him too, you hear the talk, and then it's trying to find a voice too and try to implement yourself on the group, but the experienced players are a big help to us."
Knowing he has to keep on working hard and developing, Kirby is well aware of what he needs to do. But with the hunger to succeed, he's backing himself to kick on next year and take the next step, growing moth physically and mentally.
"The biggest step up to Super League is the intensity of it," he added. "The ball doesn't go out of play very often, and it's back and forth. Before I made my debut, I had been playing eighty minutes every week for the academy and the reserves and playing in the middle and in the back row, but after 12 minutes of Super League, I couldn't breathe anymore. My lungs had gone.
"They (Salford) probably saw a young kid on debut and tried to get at me. I think I made 18 tackles in like 20 minutes. I've never been exposed to something like that before, but I did enjoy it. Looking back now, it was a big step up, but now that I've had a taste of it, I know what's to come and where I need to do to get to that level consistently.
"Again, those experienced players will help us and give advice when needed. It all starts this pre-season. I'm sure we'll learn loads, and that's the challenge—to keep learning and see where it all takes us."
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