Hull FC's first pre-season game at Doncaster this Sunday afternoon is the first opportunity for the club's young players to show new head coach John Cartwright and co. what they're all about. It's an opportunity to be seized, but for Callum Kemp that opportunity has taken on extra significance.

The young half-back made his first-team debut at the end of last season, holding his own against Catalans Dragons in the final round of the 2024 campaign. Following Jordan Abdull's release from the club, there's a fresh opportunity for the teenager to stake a claim for a Super League spot.

And while Cade Cust will be the favourite to come in at half-back, at least while the pursuit of Marc Sneyd goes on, Kemp will look to show the same temperament and potential that earned him his plaudits last season. The teenager may still be a second-year academy player, but he has been training as part of the first-team squad this pre-season and has been joined by his twin Lloyd, a full-back by trade who can also slot in at centre, and who is pushing his brother on this winter.

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Rising through the Hull Wyke system, the twins have been praised for their conduct and attitude but also their skill and development as aspiring players, with Head of Emerging Talent Francis Cummins excited at the opportunities to come, starting in South Yorkshire this Sunday.

"There are going to be opportunities for them," Cummins told Hull Live. "Callum got his chance last year, and I thought he showed up really well, but they've both got a really nice temperament in that they rarely get flustered.

"They are both really composed players. Lloyd is trying his best to become a first-team player, and Callum is too. I suppose if they were exactly in the same position, then it could be one against the other, but Lloyd is working on his physicality and the size of him, and he's going to play full-back, a different role to Callum.

"They've both had a really good pre-season, and they'll be looking to push on this year. I expect them to be a lot better this year than they were last year and to keep progressing."

Possessing that twin bond, both players are also very competitive, from games in training to wrestling. There's pride at stake, and the passion shows. Cummins continued: "Being twins creates its own dynamic. You can just imagine them fighting to the death, even doing a wrestling match.

"We joke, but it's bragging rights, and it's who gets the top bunk when they go home. They are different characters, and the easy thing is to talk about them as twins, but what they really are is good rugby league players. They're different players, good players, but more importantly, they are good people. They are well-grounded young men."

The club will also give opportunities to members of their Elite Talent Group to impress at Doncaster, with the likes of Jordan Baker set for a runout. He will be joined by players like Ryan Westerman and Will Kirby, with the coaching staff eager to see who steps up in a game situation.

"It is a reserves game; there will be young first-teamers, but it's more about the lads wanting a game," Cummins explained. "The pre-season is generally long, and our lads who play get the first opportunity to show the new boss what they're like in a game as opposed to just training on a training field.

"Some of them can change people's opinions or show that they can do it against professional players, rolling against men really. That's what reserves are about for our young 19/20-year-old lads; they've got to play against players who have been around the block a few times."

He added: "It's not a game we're previewing as such. A lot of it will be, 'Can you deliver the shape where John wants us to play like?' And 'What are you like under adversity?' There might be times when individuals are physically dominated but are they still in the fight? That's what we are looking for.

"Don't get me wrong, we want them to play well and show up well, but it's how they go against these players that have been professionals for 10/15 years; albeit, they might be part-time now, but they've got to be able to not always dominate them, but show that they can at least trade it and handle it. That's what we're looking for. Sometimes as a team that doesn't work and sometimes it does. Sometimes it's a great result but it's not about the result. We're looking for individuals capping off an eight-week part of pre-season with another 3/4 weeks left."

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