Cade Cust is looking forward to sampling his own cup romance with Hull FC next month. The Australian half-back has been watching the FA Cup, the eldest cup competition in football, since arriving in the U.K. and in particular the David vs. Goliath clashes of recent weeks.

That saw the likes of non-league outfit Tamworth take Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur to extra time earlier this month, with the Black and Whites set for a rugby league equivalent, of sorts, next month, with John Cartwright's side heading to the winners of Saturday's tie between York Acorn and Oulton Radiers in the third round of the Challenge Cup.

And for Cust, who won the Cup with Wigan Warriors at Tottenham back in 2022, the tie presents its own excitement, both for the Airlie Birds as a new opponent and for the opposition, who will be psyched up to face Super League opposition.

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Speaking to Hull Live, he said: "I've been watching a bit of the FA Cup since I've come over here, so I think it's good to get the amateur teams to play against the Super League clubs. It makes the competition a lot more exciting, and it gives them clubs a chance to show how good they are up against a Super League club.

"No one can complain about that, and it should be a good round. I'm looking forward to getting out there with the boys against a less familiar opponent ahead of what will hopefully be a strong season."

The third round, which sees all 12 Super League clubs go up against lower-league opposition from the Championship, League 1, or the community game, is sandwiched in between the club's only pre-season game against Castleford on February 1 and the Super League opener against Catalans Dragons on February 14. And while excitement lies with what's to come, it's very much a week-by-week process for the 26-year-old.

He added: "It is exciting, but our main priority at the moment is getting our connections going in training and getting everything as slick as we possibly can. Come game week, we'll dive into a bit of video and how we're going to play that game. It's very much one week and one game at a time, but we are looking forward to it. It's been a long but enjoyable pre-season; we've done a lot of hard work, and we're ready to play."

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