Young Hull winger Lewis Martin has had a year to remember in 2025 – but is already focused on reaching new heights in the new Super League season.
Martin scored an incredible 25 tries in 27 rounds for the Black and Whites, which saw him named the Super League’s top scorer of the season and nominated for Young Player of the Season.
Despite much improvement from the black and whites under John Cartwright, they narrowly missed out on the play-offs in 2025 as Wakefield finished sixth.
Now, with the squad knowing what Hull FC is all about and with some strong new signings including James Bell, Sam Leeson, Joe Batchelor and Jake Arthur, they know this season will come with expectations.
Therefore, for Martin, being in the fight for a place at Old Trafford in October must be the absolute minimum.
“Massive. I think anything short of the playoffs will be a failure,” Lewis said Ski Sports.
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Check out the best tries from the 2025 Super League season.
“We want to win and there’s no point playing in it if you don’t think you have a chance to win. That belief is part of it as well.”
“So if we don’t make the playoffs, it will be a failure of the season.
“This year it’s about the team and it’s always about the team, but it’s also about getting them into the playoffs and hopefully they play in some finals.”
“I think we had a good balance last year and Zach (Hardaker), he probably led us last season as well, but I think we’ve added more to that this year as well.”
“It’s good for the young guys to have leaders on the field, but we want to prove ourselves.
And after a year of such individual highlights, what is Martin aiming for in 2026?
Simply, more of the same, but with a longer season as he looks to turn an exceptional season into an exceptional career.
“At the beginning of last year I probably didn’t expect to play the first round and then to play every minute of every game was crazy,” he added.
“It’s nice to get tries and be the best at the end of the year, but I think now it’s about making the playoffs.”
“We were big on the relationship, building that relationship. We got a lot of new players and I think that was a big, big part of it.
“We want to be a close group and I think we did that very well.”
“I just want to play now. I just take it season by season. I can’t get ahead of myself, it’s only been one year.
“You can’t make a career out of one good season, so I have to keep playing well and keep improving.”
Ski Sports will once again show every Super League game live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week Ski Sports+