The young hooker still has a future at Hull FC.
Hull FC hooker Denive Balmforth is spending the 2026 season on loan at York Knights.
Denive Balmforth still has a future at Hull FC, with the Black and Whites sending the hooker to York Knights on a season long loan to avoid another ‘Jez Litten scenario.’
Hull allowed Litten to move to Hull KR back in 2019, with the player behind Danny Houghton in the hierarchy of dummy halves at the time. Litten has since gone on to become the best hooker in the British game.
The club are now hoping to avoid a history repeat, with Balmforth sent to the Super League newcomers with the assurance from York coach Mark Applegarth of week in week out game time at the highest level.
Hull are counting on that experience to serve the 22-year-old well, with Balmforth, who is contracted until the end of 2028, then fighting his way back into the Hull team next year – a scenario head coach John Cartwright has stated could have allowed Litten to still be playing at Hull today.
“It was a tough decision,” Cartwright said. “We have two hookers in Amir Bourouh and Cade Cust. Cade was brought to the club as a number 14 player and to play hooker, but the beauty of him was he could play in the halves and through circumstance he had to play there last season.
“We’ve strengthened our halves for this year by signing Jake Arthur which has freed up Cade to be the signing we wanted him to be.
“For Denive, he’s here for three years, we spoke about players who weren’t going to get a lot out of playing reserve grade, and the opportunity came for him to go to York and develop. Hopefully he plays a full season, and he comes back an accomplished player.
“We’ve loaned him out to develop. Jez Litten is a good example, they’re seeing the best of him at the moment at Hull KR. I’m not pointing fingers, but if he’d been loaned out and come back, then he might still have been here.”