Hull FC star opens up on football heartbreak fuelling Super League success as accolade eyed up

Just a few years ago, Lewis Martin was a teenage footballer being told he wasn’t good enough by his boyhood club. Now, he’s eyeing one of Super League’s biggest individual honours.

Released by Hull City at 15, Martin had spent almost half his life in their academy having joined them as an eight-year-old who had just watched the Tigers get promoted to the Premier League under Steve Bruce.

The setback was huge – but it ended up being the spark for something much bigger.

Speaking to LoveRugbyLeague after being named in this year’s Super League Dream Team, he explained: “I was at Hull City from being eight up until I was 15.

“I got told I wasn’t good enough and released. It was tough to hear having been there seven years, but that’s the harsh reality of football and sport.

“Even in rugby league, when you get to certain cut-off points, it happens. It wasn’t nice to hear, but in hindsight, it’s probably the best thing that happened to me.”

At the time, Martin didn’t know what was next. But then came a call from Hull FC‘s Matty Faulkner, and with it, an unexpected second chance.

Now 21, he detailed: “Matty was involved in the club’s youth recruitment at the time asked me whether I wanted to give rugby a go.

“I had nothing to lose, so I went into the scholarship without even ever playing a proper game of rugby, around the time of COVID.

“I went through the academy and then managed to make my debut two years ago. Now, I’m in the Dream Team and up for (Super League) Young Player of the Year. It’s been a pretty crazy ride.”

‘I was a little, scrawny football kid and when I first got into rugby, I was way below everyone’s standards’

Martin – who only turned 21 in August – was named in the Dream Team having scored 25 tries in Super League this year, the most of anyone in the competition.

Growing up in the world of football, he never had much time for rugby league, despite growing up in a city defined by it.

The youngster said: “I was football mad, my dad is the same. You obviously know about rugby living and growing up in Hull, but I was never really a fan.

“Everyone wants to be a striker and score the goals when they’re growing up, and up until I was about 12, I was playing there or out on the right wing. But as you get older, your bodies change and I ended up dropping into centre-half.”

By the time he entered the Hull FC system, Martin was still raw and undersized. He didn’t stand out physically: and had next to no experience in the sport.

He said: “I was a little, scrawny football kid and when I first got into rugby, I was way below everyone’s standards. I had to learn pretty fast, but that’s what I did: working hard and learning the game, putting a bit of size on.

“When I first came in, I was 80 kilos and now I’m about 95, so I’ve put on quite a bit of size.”

‘“When you get released from other football clubs, there are probably other opportunities elsewhere… in Hull, there’s only one’

Just before joining FC’s youth ranks, Martin went and played a couple of games at amateur level for community club West Hull, but failed to stand out.

He had pace, and that was enough to get a shot on the wing as he moved into the egg-shaped ball side of the MKM Stadium, but there was still plenty he didn’t know.

Martin – who marked his senior debut in the final game of the 2023 Super League campaign away at St Helens with a try – explained: “When I first got into rugby, I didn’t know you had to do backfield carries (as a winger).

“I thought it was just catching a ball and scoring tries!

“But the game’s changed a lot now, and what you have to do as a winger has because of it.”

Martin’s growth spurt following his exit from Hull City helped him, but it’s his mix of speed, size, and hard work has turned him into one of Hull FC’s brightest talents.

He’s now a serious contender to be named as Super League’s Young Player of the Year having made the four-man shortlist, with the winner to be crowned next Tuesday – October 7 – during the annual Rugby Legaue Awards Night in Manchester.

The winger said: “When you get released from other football clubs, there are probably other opportunities elsewhere.

“But in Hull, there’s only one football club and then others are an hour-and-a-half away, whereas rugby is a big thing in the city.

“It’s been a crazy journey for me, but I love it, and I wouldn’t change it.”