Hull FC have competition to keep their up and coming talent.

Hull FC’s scholarship side are five from five in 2026.

Andy Last has aired a key message to Hull FC’s youngest talent and the club itself, with some big decisions to make as they progress from scholarship to academy rugby league.

Hotly tipped within the sport’s circles to progress highly in the game, the Black and Whites have a large group of the all-conquering West Hull under-16s team in their current setup, with the challenge now to keep hold of them as they progress up the ladder.

The club, big on youth development and keen, under Richard Tate, Francis Cummins, and Danny Houghton, to bring them through, faces a challenge to do just that, with other Super League clubs, namely from Yorkshire, circling at games and taking a keen interest.

And Last, whose twin sons, Isaac and Jacob, play in the side, who have swept up all before them so far this year, is well aware of that fact, with his messaging to the players one of unity, teamwork and connection, the foundation of which their success so far has been built.

“They were all there, weren’t they? I saw them all,” Last said on Super League ‘vultures’ circling in at scholars’ games. “It’s not the first game they were there either. They’ve been at a few games, all the scouts.

“It’s the reality of a strong team, and this is a strong team, but I think the strength of that team is the fact that they’ve been together for a long, long time.

“Obviously, I’m fortunate enough to be part of those lads’ journey. I’ve got two of my own in there, and that is something which has been building from the age of, you know, six years old – that West Hull team, with the likes of Cam (Windley) at the back and Bobby (Hewitt) and Jacob (Last) in the halves, and then the front row with Jethro (Attah-Boakye), Isaac (Last) and Jake Fletcher, and then Henry Cator at the back; it’s a very strong spine, and the strength of that group is the team.

“They’ve been together a long time, and they speak about it on a daily basis – about the Penrith model and all coming through the system together. The challenge for us as a club is making sure that we value them as players and make them offers that they think are fair.

“That’s a challenge for us as a staff and us as a club, and it’s a challenge for the guy who signs the cheques because there are other clubs circling. They’ve been there watching the scholarship games, but I’m confident in our pathway, and I’m confident in the club doing the right thing by those guys.”

For Last, those players sticking together gives them the best chance to kick on. He continued: “It’s a message which I think the club will be speaking to them about individually, but that’s probably a message for me as well.

“The strength of that group is the fact that they’ve been together for such a long time. They’ve got a great connection. They spend a lot of time outside of rugby together, when they go watch West Hull’s first team, they’re all together.

“It’s special. It’s special to see, and they are a special team. They convincingly beat teams on a regular basis last year when they was challenged as 15 year olds playing against 16 year olds. They went all the way to the National Cup final and just got beat by Lock Lane narrowly in a controversial decision.

“And then they held their own at scholarship level, playing a year above. So they are a good group. The club’s fully aware that it’s a good group, and the game’s fully aware that it’s a good group, and there are other clubs looking, but our club is a strong club, and it invests heavily in its youth programme.

“We’ve had great success in bringing guys through, and this is a group that I’d love to see come through all together. It is a great story, and hopefully those guys will play a significant role, a passage, and a chapter in the club’s history, which could be quite special.

“It’s exciting for those individuals, and it’s exciting for us as a club because if we get it right with those guys, it could be a real special period.”