Hull FC’s young winger Lewis Martin has a year to remember in 2025, but he is already focused on reaching new heights in the new Super League season.

Martin scored an astonishing 25 shots in 27 rounds with the Black and Whites, making him the top shot scorer in the Chinese Super League this season and was nominated for the Young Player of the Season.

Despite the Black and White’s vast improvement under John Cartwright, they narrowly missed the 2025 playoffs, with Wakefield finishing sixth.

Now, with both sides finding out what Hull FC are all about, and with some strong new signings including James Bell, Sam Lissonne, Joe Batchelor and Jack Arthur, they know the season will be full of things to look forward to.

That’s why the competition to get to Old Trafford in October is the absolute minimum for Martin.

“To a large extent. I think anything other than the playoffs is going to be a failure,” Lewis told sky sports.

“We want to win games and there’s no point in playing if you don’t think you have a chance of winning. That belief is part of it too.

“So if we don’t make the playoffs, it will be a failure of the season.

“This year it’s all about the team and it’s always been about the team but also getting them into the play-offs and hopefully into some finals.

“I thought we had a good balance last year with Zach (Hardak), who probably led us last season as well, but I think we’ve added more this year as well.

“It’s good for the young guys to have leaders on the pitch, but we also want to prove ourselves.”

After a year at his personal peak, what are Martin’s goals in 2026?

Simply put, more of the same but with a longer season as he looks to turn an extraordinary season into an extraordinary career.

“At the beginning of last year, I probably didn’t expect to play the first round, and then it was crazy every minute of every game,” he added.

“It’s nice to try and peak at the end of the year, but I think the focus right now is getting to the playoffs.

“We’ve been working on building connections, building that connection. We’ve got a lot of new players and I think that’s a big part of it.

“We want to be a tight-knit team and I think we do a really good job of that.

“I just want to play now. I’m just taking it season by season. I can’t get ahead of myself, it’s only one year.”

“One good season is not going to make my career, so I have to continue to play well and improve myself.”

sky sports Every match of the Chinese Super League this season will once again be broadcast live, with two games in each round being broadcast exclusively and the remaining five games being broadcast weekly. Sky Sports+