LEWIS Martin believes being told his football dreams were over has turned out to be the best thing to happen to him after being named in the 2025 Betfred Super League Dream Team.
The winger player the round-ball game for Hull City up to the age of 15, but switched to rugby league following his release from the Tigers’ youth set-up and quickly earned an academy contract with Hull FC despite his relative inexperience.
Now 21, Martin’s rapid rise in a sport he knew little about has culminated in him finishing the 2025 regular season at the Betfred Super League’s leading try-scorer and being one of the 13 players selected in the prestigious Dream Team, barely six years after he thought his own dreams of playing professional sport had been crushed.
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Try Scoring Expert 🔥@hullfcofficial‘s Lewis Martin is the Top Try Scorer in 2025 👏#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/MQZ18bojap
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 20, 2025
“At first I felt bad for my parents because they’d chased me round the country for seven years and for it all to just stop in a heartbeat was probably the worst news you could hear as a 15-year old,” Martin told BBC Radio Humberside.
“But mum and dad said they were proud of me no matter what and just go and enjoy yourself, just do what you want to do.
“When rugby came about, I thought I’d got nothing to lose and I’d give it a good crack.
“Looking back now, it’s probably the best words that ever got said to me.”
After making a try-scoring debut in a 30-12 defeat to St Helens in 2023, Martin established himself as a first-team regular during Hull FC’s difficult 2024 campaign where they finished 11th.
Although he only crossed the whitewash nine times that season, it was enough to see him finish as the Black and Whites’ leading try-scorer and he kicked on again in 2025.
Martin not only led the way for his club, but also the competition as a whole after racking up 25 tries in 27 appearances.
Those scores came on the back of him making 58 tackle busts, 23 clean breaks, and having an average game of 7.06 metres per carry per Stats Perform data, and he believes his success in rugby league is down to him being able to show his speed when he gets into space.
Martin also praised head coach John Cartwright, who guided Hull FC to within touching distance of the play-offs in his firsr season at the helm, for playing a significant role in his development in 2025.
“John Cartwright has been a big influence on my game, and all the older boys in the team,” Martin said.
“It’s just that belief in us, especially at the start of the year for us young boys off the back of last year.
“Then when we got in the team, they treat us just like any other lad.
“Everyone was fighting for spots and it brings the best out of us, and it’s brought the best out of me.”
Martin is proud of his achievements this year, but will not be spending too much time dwelling on them as he and Hull FC aim for an even better campaign in 2026.
Even so, he does still sometimes pause to reflect on the road his career has taken.
“It’s a crazy journey,” Martin said. “It’s all happened in a flash and I can remember it like yesterday when I got released from City.
“It’s a crazy five or six years, and I’m excited for the future.
“I can’t stop now, I’ve got to keep going and keep improving.”
