Hull FC haven't ruled out the possibility of loan moves for some of their first-team players this year. The Black and Whites have an official squad of 30 senior players, with ten more training with the first-team as part of an Elite Talent Group this pre-season.

And with only the Kemp twins, Callum and Lloyd, eligible to play for the academy out of those 40 players, the likelihood is that some loan moves will be preferred as John Cartwright and co. look to blood and develop the club's rising young talents, some of which made their mark on the first-team last season.

For 38 of the 40 players training this pre-season, the reserves is the only playing format should they not be selected for the first-team, and with the competition playing on a biweekly basis once again, with just 12 rounds scheduled throughout the year, Hull may opt to use the loan market to get some continuity in appearances in their young players.

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That could see members of the first-team or talent group move out on loan, something which Denive Balmforth did before an encouraging run in the first-team last season. The likes of Harvey Barron have also featured on loan before, while it is also an outlet used by Matty Laidlaw in previous years.

It's something academy and reserves coach Francis Cummins has also acknowledged, but the logistics have to be right for both the player and the club, with the demands of Super League meaning clubs have to keep players back in case of suspensions, injuries, or HIAs. That was something Davy Litten fell victim to last season, with the young gun used as the 19th man on several occasions and on standby to play.

Speaking to Hull Live on the possibility of loan moves, Cummins said: "It depends on how the first team are, how healthy they are, and what numbers they've got. That's an ongoing thing. Sometimes that's the hard bit; you know a certain player needs to be playing, but you could be down a few players, and it's then the next cab off the rank, and you need them to just sit there.

"That's the hard bit, but hopefully the first team are in good health and they're playing well enough so we can commit to those sort of players who can go out for a month or a space of time on loan where they're going to be playing."

Cummins continued: "There are players that need to go on loan, just because they need to play every week. That's the only trouble. It's not so much the academy players; they, at a certain point, get to play every week anyway if they're at the right level.

"For example, Ryan Westerman and Will Kirby played nearly every week last year, academy and reserves, where some aren't ready to play reserves, and then you get other players that play one game of reserves every two weeks, and that's not enough. We need to look at some of those older players going on loan and playing against men and again, learning their trade a bit more."

And as for the reserves competition, which has run for the last three seasons following an interrupted period during the coronavirus pandemic, Cummins is pleading for clubs to stick with it and help it grow. The competition sees Hull face off against all 11 British-based Super League clubs this year, with Championship outfit Bradford Bulls also involved. The Black and Whites also play Hull KR twice, with tasty ties to come against St Helens, Wigan, and the like.

Cummins added: "There's talk about all sorts of things changing and this and that, but I enjoyed it last year; I enjoyed it when we got to play reserves vs. reserves. Sometimes there's lip service on other clubs, not our club, but others.

"We had injuries sometimes, but the academy is a different animal. That's pretty much settled, and sometimes you can have big changes in reserves depending on what players you have available, but I enjoyed last year; I enjoyed both of them to a point. I can see all different formulas, but I just think they need to keep commiting to it, as we are, and keep going at it. That's really important."

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