HULL FC'S YOUTH CHALLENGE FIRING SIDE UP AS JACK CHARLES AND LOGAN MOY QUALITIES LAID OUT

Danny Houghton is ready to see some of Hull FC's youthful energy and exuberance come to the fore at St Helens this Friday night. The Black and Whites have named a young 21-man squad, with a dozen players under the age of 23.

Most of them will be in action on Merseyside, with Hull looking to upset the apple cart and put in a spirited account against the Saints, who have done a bit of soul-searching themselves after two defeats in Super League and the Challenge Cup.

Houghton, meanwhile, has been encouraged by the talent Hull are bringing to the first-team, with the club's youth adding both effort and energy to the table ahead of Simon Grix's first game in charge.

"It's great playing with kids," Houghton told Hull Live. "They bring that level of energy and that level of effort and that want and that will. As an older head, that's what you want; you want a bit of buzz and a bit of spark. They try, and some things don't work out for them, but you can cop that and defend it. You know they're going to give it their all.

"Whoever comes in, we've just got that level of commitment to each other. Hopefully, this period can bring some young kids through. It's great for the club. In the past, when we have had that influx of kids and those Hull-based players, we saw good things off the back of it. This is a perfect opportunity for those young boys to come in and really cement what they're about and what this club is about."

On the youth front, the likes of Jack Charles are expected to start against St Helens, with Logan Moy also included after making his debut against Huddersfield last time out. Both players have impressed Houghton so far, with Charles set for his fifth senior game.

"I think they've been great," Houghton continued. "Charlesy is a bit further on than Logan in terms of playing this season. He's shown some really classy touches, and he's got a real level head about him.

"First and foremost, he's a great kid. He's prepared to learn, and he listens. It's the same for Logan. He's a little bit off the cuff, he's elusive, and he cares. That's all we want as a playing group—loads of boys that are prepared to have a crack and care for the position."

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Houghton, now 35 years old, played his 400th Super League game last month and is just eight games off making 450 appearances for the club. However, the veteran hooker is more focused on putting things right for the team than on individual milestones.

"It's a milestone that I can look back on in the future and be very proud of," Houghton explained. "To be able to serve one game for this club would have been great; to play over 400 is amazing. It's something I never would have dreamt of happening, but milestones are milestones; they're great for me, but at the moment, it's about trying to get this club back to the good days, and if I can make a small part in that for the rest of this season, then that will be a big plus for me."

To do that, it's all about the effort areas, with Hull placing a huge focus on spirit, grit, togetherness, urgency, desperation, and the like.

"In any sport, if you get that right, then things happen off the back of it," Houghton added. "Good things happen, and you get a bit luckier. I'm sure we will get that right; I'm positive about it. We do care about this club, and we want to put it right. I know people say we don't and we don't try, but we honestly do. It's harsh to hear, but that's where we've put ourselves. We don't want to keep being in that position, and we'll try our hardest to put that right.

"It's easy to sit back after teams get slapped and say the camaraderie around the place and the culture is crap; it's toxic, but that's just outside noise that we need to put to one side. We just need to concentrate on ourselves. The way we put that right is to do it on the field and show everybody that we are close as a group, we are tight, and we do care. We can change that through our actions on the field."

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