Connor Wynne hails the three Hull FC youngsters he's been most impressed with

Connor Wynne has been encouraged by the progress of youngsters this season as they continue to edge towards the senior ranks. The Black and Whites currently have the only unbeaten academy side in the country and there is plenty of optimism within the club about the crop of talent working its way through the system at the MKM Stadium.

A host of those young players have been invited to train with Brett Hodgson's first-team on occasions this year as part of the club’s ‘Rising Stars’ programme and it seems they’ve made quite the impression. At 21, Wynne, who made his Hull debut back in 2019, isn’t much older than those players, but having come through FC’s youth programme himself, he’s delighted to see so many thriving.

“A couple have caught my eye to be fair,” he said. “Davy Litten is a good player and I’m sure he’ll debut this year and hopefully Hodgo gives him his chance to play because he’s a cracking player. He’s still young and he still has a lot to learn.

“Denive (Balmforth) is unreal. For a young boy his age, it’s madness what he can just pull out of the bag, he can pull any trick out of the bag and it will work. He’ll hopefully get a couple more shots this year.

“I like Matty Laidlaw. He’s like a brick wall. He came from the development squad like Davy did and they’re really putting their bodies about and showing what they’re capable of.

“Matty has just been called up to the first-team to the train with us for a bit. He’s holding his own. I’ve always liked him, I’ve played with him in reserves, he’s hard to tackle and he throws his body about.

“I’ve seen a video of him a couple of weeks ago against Huddersfield, he jumped out of the line and smoked someone.

“I’ve been in that position and to see them like that, it’s