Hull FC take on amateur opposition in the Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon, but for 21-year-old winger Harvey Barron, "Nothing changes."

Meeting York Acorn at Featherstone's Millennium Stadium, the Black and Whites face a community team for the first time since hosting Ellenborough at the Boulevard back in 1998. But to a new-look squad, it's very much business as usual.

Gearing up for the National Conference League opponent as they would for any other game, Hull, fielding a youthful side with some new signings and experience, will hope to show their reignited professionalism in their first competitive game of 2025, with Barron for one looking to stick to the processes learnt under a new head coach in John Cartwright this pre-season.

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"The biggest thing for us is not to get too carried away," he told Hull Live. "Obviously there is a gap with the standard, but it's not falling into that trap. They'll be up for it, more than most teams would be, and they'll come out firing.

"They'll try to be strong, take our heads off, and show what they're about. We need to be smart and build into a game like we would do any other week and not get too far ahead of ourselves."

Being composed is what Hull are desiring most this year, starting this weekend. Their fundamentals are based on hard work and effort, but also on their intellect with the ball, how they move it, and where they turn it over.

"We have to be ourselves; that's what happened last year; we fell away from that," Barron continued. "We made a few errors, and we put our heads down, but if we stick to our systems and our principles, we'll be fine. There's a big emphasis on that, simple rugby, completing and getting them into corners, but it's effective. That's what John is driving.

"Errors in yardage are a big one; they give the opposition the ball in your half and put you under pressure, so we're working hard to get rid of them. That starts now. We want to be connected so everyone knows their roles and where the ball is going, and then complete our sets, pin them in the corner and go from there."

A big part of Hull's game on Saturday will be out of the backfield, with Barron likely to be joined by Lewis Martin and Logan Moy in the three-quarter line. The trio, despite Hull's challenges, drew a lot of praise last year, getting sets rolling and Hull upfield. And against an opposition who will try to be physical, it's a perfect chance to set the tone ahead of the year ahead.

"It plays into our attributes, those big strong carries," Barron said. "We can then show our plays in good ball. We've got a free rein to play how we want in the backfield, but so long as we're sticking to our criteria of how we play and getting our heads down and getting the metres going.

"We've got our milestones that we need to hit, but at the same time, it's like what Grixy (Simon Grix) taught us last year: it's about playing smart and not just carrying for the sake of carrying or getting carries for an extra carry on the tip sheet.

"It's figuring out what point of the field we're getting to and why we're doing it, and not for the sake of it. It's about smart involvements and sticking to our plan."

Relishing the competition with Martin, both young wingers have long been tipped to be the future of the club. For Barron, though, it's now where they need to make their mark, playing with energy and using their athleticism to their advantage.

"We're at a good age now, and we've both got a good amount of playing time under our belts," he added. "It's about building on what we've done in previous years, and with John and the way he wants the team to play, it's perfect for us and how we play and the attributes we both have."