IT will be a largely inexperienced Hull FC side that stands across the field from Warrington Wolves tomorrow – but does not mean they should be written off.

Far from it, in fact, with head coach Tony Smith hopeful his side’s youthful exuberance will cancel out any lack of experience as he returns to his former club.

The Black and Whites have been beset by injuries and suspensions following their Round One defeat to rivals Hull KR, with new props Herman Ese’ese and Franklin Pele among those suspended.

Captain Danny Houghton and star half-back Jake Trueman are on the treatment table, with 14 first-team players unavailable for the trip to The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

As such, 12 of the 21 players Smith will select from have less than 10 Super League appearances to their name, with three potential senior debutants.

However, Smith insists that in itself can be a powerful weapon as they look to pull off what many would consider a huge upset.

“Every game coaches and players go into is seen as an opportunity for two points,” he said.

“Clearly it comes down to how you perform and that’s the beauty of our game. It’s not often that the hardest-working team doesn’t win.

“In other sports, you can get a lucky goal or things go against play. In our sport, you’re never off-target and win.

“With these young guys, they’ve got nothing to hold back from.

“They’ve been waiting for an opportunity and it’s an exciting one for us as well to kickstart our season because we certainly didn’t do that last week.”

On his former club, whom he led to three Challenge Cups, three Super League Grand Final appearances and two League Leaders’ Shields between 2009 and 2017, Smith added: “They’re a class outfit.

“They’ve got a new coach who they’re trying to impress and play to the way he’s instilling in them.

“I know Sam (Burgess, Wire head coach) will be riding them hard this week but they weren’t far off it in Catalans – it’s hard to go down there and perform but there wasn’t much in it.

“They’re going to be tough, they’re going to be hurting from last week but we’re hurting ourselves.

“We’ve got to worry about ourselves this week and get an enthusiastic performance out there. Hopefully we will bring enough enthusiasm to match their experience.

“Sometimes you can have young guys out there that make up for their lack of experience with the enthusiasm and desire they bring to the team. That’s what we’re hoping for this week.”