More emphasis is being placed on club produced players – and Hull FC are right on top of it.
14:39, 19 Jan 2026Updated 16:08, 19 Jan 2026
Hull FC brothers Callum & Lloyd Kemp at the end of the game after victory over Warrington.(Image: SW PIX)
Super League clubs are going to find recruitment more difficult in 2026, and Hull FC are no different. However, in what is now very much a congested rugby league market, one thing sits in their favour: a desire to produce their own.
With the NRL expanding and player demand higher, most recently felt by Leeds Rhinos with both Harry Newman and James McDonnell moving to Perth next year, youth development is now as arguably as important as it ever was – but luckily for the Black and Whites, it’s an area on the forefront of their mind, and not something just for the future, but the present as well.
That’s certainly a view shared by club captain Aidan Sezer, tasked, amid his skipper responsibilities, to mentor the club’s young emerging halves, notably both Kemp twins Callum and Lloyd, and ensure they can kick on in the same shape as Harvey Barron, Davy Litten, and Lewis Martin and become future cornerstones of the side.
The twins, who turned 19-years-old in the off-season, have both debuted in Super League and already showed their promise, calmness, and tenacity, with Sezer impressed with the further progress made this pre-season ahead of the club’s first trial game of the year against Huddersfield Giants this Sunday afternoon.
“We speak about long-term development, but those boys have come along leaps and bounds since I’ve been at the club,” Sezer told Hull Live. “With the experience they gained in Super League last year, it’s only going to be beneficial for them.
“They’re such good kids as well and they’ve got great attitudes, as have all of the young lads. They train really hard and they bring their best to training every day. That’s all you can ask for at this stage of their career.
“But it’s up to us older boys and the leadership lads at the club to help get the best out of those young kids as well and show them how it’s done. We’ve all got our role to play and it’s only going to be beneficial for the club in the future.”
As well as the twins, Hull could feature the likes of Ryan Westerman, Matty Laidlaw, Will Kirby and co in their pre-season games, with Rio Kassim and Jon Turner two further young talents who could get some minutes.
And while the general consensus is that clubs are going to feel the pinch of the NRL even more as they recruit for next year, both in terms of current Super League players leaving for Australia and those moving the over way to England, respite certainly lies in what they can bring through themselves. For Hull FC, it’s a process they seem to be in top of.