Hull FC have confirmed their new academy recruits.
11:39, 11 Oct 2025Updated 11:41, 11 Oct 2025
Hull FC scholarship celebrate Kingsley Sharpe’s try at St Helens. (Image: Hull FC)
Hull FC have signed up 11 players to their academy squad for the 2026 season – including nine graduates from their scholarship system.
As reported by Hull Live this summer, Kingsley Sharpe and Caleb Paleaaesina are two of those players, with the club also signing two players from further afield. They are Joshua Harding, who has been recruited from the Warrington Wolves Scholarship system, and William Mathers, who joins from Leeds Rhinos. Both players featured for Wales Under 16s in a squad that dominated the 2025 Four Nations tournament earlier in the year.
The new players will all have the chance to feature on Hull’s Academy tour of Australia in 2027, as well as work their way up to reserves and potentially the first team in the seasons to come. They will be coached by Francis Cummins and Danny Houghton and supported by Head of Youth Richard Tate and Player Development Manager Jack Lazenby.
Meanwhile, the Academy will once again form part of the club’s Centre of Excellence, with recent graduates including the likes of Harvey Barron, Lewis Martin, Davy Litten, Matty Laidlaw, Denive Balmforth, and Will Huthinson, plus the Kemp twins Callum and Lloyd.
Speaking on the club’s latest intake, Tate said: “We’re proud of this latest group of players joining our Academy squad. The standards and behaviours of junior talent coming through at Hull FC is a real credit to the devotion of our youth development staff and the learning environment that we create, as well as the dedication of the players’ community clubs and schools.
“These organisations play a vital role in nurturing so many young players and they deserve immense credit for the foundations they’ve helped build. The progression of these players marks the culmination of years of dedication and training so far.
“Each player has demonstrated outstanding potential both on and off the field and will now begin the next stage of their development within our Academy.”
Outlining a key facet in Hull’s squads, with the club now starting to recruit young players outside of East Yorkshire, Tate continued: “What’s also really encouraging is that our youth programmes are becoming an increasingly attractive option for players outside our traditional recruitment areas.
“It shows that the work we’re doing at Hull FC is being recognised and respected across the game and that players and families see a clear route of opportunity through our organisation.”
The new signings to join Hull FC’s Academy in 2026 are as follows:
Owen Bartle – West Hull | St Mary’s CollegeAlex Batty – Skirlaugh | Malet Lambert SchoolCole Bone – Skirlaugh | Archbishop Sentamu AcademyLogan Edwards – Beverley Braves | Hornsea SchoolJoshua Harding – Aber Valley Wolves | Blackwood Comprehensive SchoolWilliam Mathers – Kippax Welfare | Castleford AcademyTravis Minns-Strachan – Hull Wyke | Kelvin Hall SchoolCaleb Paleaaesina – West Hull | South Hunsley SchoolKingsley Sharpe – Skirlaugh | Winifred Holtby AcademyJames Tann – Cottingham Tigers | Hessle High SchoolRyan Wilkinson – West Hull | Cottingham High School