Hull FC assistant coach Andy Last has spoken about one of the club’s recent loan deals with a young talent set to benefit immensely.
The Black and Whites have always produced plenty of local talent but that’s been more evident than ever in recent years with the club thrusting many youngsters into the spotlight last year during their injury-ravaged campaign that saw them win just three games.
Whilst it was a season to forget in many ways, it was a season that allowed a host of young players to get plenty of Super League experience under their belt and Hull FC are benefiting from that now.
Winger Lewis Martin, who played 24 times in 2024, has scored more tries than any other player in his position in Super League this year, whilst the likes of Jack Charles, Logan Moy, Harvey Barron and Denive Balmforth also got significant game time.
Moy and Charles have struggled for first team minutes in 2025 given the large recruitment that Hull FC did ahead of the season, and Balmforth has recently been loaned out to Catalans Dragons.
Assistant coach Andy Last spoke about that to the media earlier in the week, explaining how the deal is a win for all involved whilst also revealing what it is the Black and Whites want to see from the talented hooker.
Hull FC hooker has ‘huge potential’ as loan plan revealed
Balmforth initially joined Catalans on a month-long deal but that’s been extended until the end of the season with the Leeds-born hooker impressing immensely in his initial spell.
Asked by Serious About Rugby League about the situation with Balmforth, Last explained: “I’m in contact with Denive every week. I look at his game and then I feed back to him on our system and he’s clear in what we expect from him, from a Hull FC point of view.”
As for that feedback, Last gave an example: “He’s getting feedback, both positive and negative, on things that he’s doing and what he needs to improve. I think he showed what he’s capable of in the game against Warrington offensively, he was really really strong.
“The try he scored was Denive all over but also in that game, he showed an areas that he needs to improve which was that he took a play off when George broke through from marker and it resulted in them scoring the match-winning try.”
The 21-year-old played on Friday night against Wigan Warriors and injected pace into a Catalans side that managed to win the second-half, and Last spoke about the importance of getting minutes into the hooker’s legs.
Last stated: “He’s someone who has got huge potential and whilst he’s at Catalans, he’s being exposed to playing week in and week out in Super League which is good for him.
“I’ve been pleased with aspects of his performance but he just needs to play week in and week out. The way that Amir was playing and the role that Denive had playing ten minutes here and there wasn’t going to develop him like this is.
“It’s a win for Denive, it’s a win for Catalans and it’s a win for us because we’re exposing him to Super League, which is what he needs to play at. He’s shown in the four weeks at Catalans that there are some really good bits in his game and he just needs to continue that.”
