Hull FC v St Helens: Simon Grix expresses youth concerns amid ongoing difficulties

Hull will be without at least 11 players against Saints, while a whole host of others have moved on since the start of the season, including Tex Hoy, Nu Brown and Franklin Pele.

Grix is worried about the impact on his younger players who have carried a heavy burden in 2024.

"We're down to the bare bones," he said. "We're playing young lads who wouldn't have anticipated playing quite as much this year. They're playing regularly now and if we burn through them through injury or whatever over the coming weeks, that's the concerning part.

"We're asking some really young lads to step in and do something, truth be told, they're not physically ready to do yet. That is a concern.

"We've got what we've got and it'll be what it will be. Hopefully we'll get a little bit of luck."

The round 20 clash is a repeat of Grix's first game in charge in April when St Helens made light work of a young side.

That 58-0 hammering made it 252 points conceded in just five matches but Grix has stopped the rot since then, with seven of the last eight games settled by eight points or less.

"It was a youthful team that went and played over there," said Grix, whose side have two wins to show for their efforts in recent months.

"There have been a lot of changes since then and a lot of improvement in a lot of areas across the group.

"Getting our men, if you like, back on the field has helped that but we've lost some of them now so we'll be back to looking youthful.

"Hopefully we've learnt some lessons over that time. Lewis Martin, for example, is eight games further along in his development.

"We're up against it but Saints are not in the best spot themselves. It's definitely been a steep learning curve for those young lads and we find ourselves in a position now, like at the beginning of the year, where the team is almost picking itself.

"We're going to have to be tough and show some togetherness this week."

St Helens make the trip across the M62 in their worst run of form in almost 39 years following five straight defeats.

Grix, though, is wary of the wounded Saints, to the extent that he is tipping them for a late title charge.

"A lot of their frontline players have been absent for a while and obviously there's a lot of pressure at St Helens," said Grix. "The noise will be pretty loud over there because of what they've been able to achieve in the last few seasons.

"People expect a lot of them. I've seen calls for (Paul) Wellens to be sacked but a bit of context is needed around that club at the moment.

"There's a lot going on for them but they're probably darkhorses in the sense that if they get those blokes back towards the end, they'll be in the mix. I wouldn't write them off just yet."

Saints boss Wellens has faced questions about his future in the build-up as he nears the end of his contract against the backdrop of fan discontent.

"I want that to continue for sure," he said. "I love this playing group, love working with them and thoroughly believe we can be successful in the future."