Hull FC stalwart drops hint on future as club confirm his departure

Hull FC have confirmed that long-serving former captain Carlos Tuimavave will depart at the end of the season, with the veteran providing a hint on where his future might lie.

32-year-old Tuimavave has spent nine years at the MKM Stadium, arriving in 2016 and forming part of the Black and Whites’ back-to-back Challenge Cup winning squads, lifting silverware at Wembley in his first and second seasons respectively.

Becoming Hull’s fourth highest overseas appearance-maker of all time, the centre was named the club’s Player of the Year in 2020 and went on to captain FC under Tony Smith in 2023, just the tenth overseas player to take on the Airlie Birds’ armband.

Injury has restricted Tuimavave to just 13 appearances so far this season, scoring one try to date this year to take his overall tally for the club up to 56.

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Hull FC stalwart Carlos Tuimavave drops hint on future as club confirm his departure

Tuimavave is off-contract, and last week, reports emerged that rugby union outfit Doncaster Knights were ‘keen’ to recruit him.

But while he will be leaving Hull come the end of the year, it would appear that the veteran will remain in rugby league, as he has hinted at in his leaving message in FC’s press release, stating that he will ‘keep playing the game’.

The ex-New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights ace said: “It’s been a difficult decision for me to make. I’ve been here for nine years – I didn’t think I’d be here that long.

“I originally signed a three-year contract at the age of 23, but things work out differently to what you plan, and I have no regrets.

“It’s mixed emotions for me at the moment, but it’s the right time to move on.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.. To spend nine years at one club is a special achievement. The club will always hold a special place in my heart and I’ve got memories here that will last me a lifetime.

“I’m not completely sure what the future will hold for me just yet, but I’m going to keep playing the game in 2025.”

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Chairman pays tribute to departing overseas star

Three-time Samoa international Tuimavave will leave the MKM Stadium with over 180 appearances for the Black and Whites to his name.

He will round off his time at the club with home games against both Salford Red Devils and Catalans Dragons.

Airlie Birds Chairman Adam Pearson lauded him, saying: “It has been an honour and a privilege to have Carlos within our ranks for the best part of a decade, and to have seen him develop from a young man into a true leader, and one of the finest overseas Super League centres of the modern era.

“He has without doubt become one of the greatest NRL signings this club has ever made, and will leave a lasting legacy on the club.

“He will be the first to admit that he didn’t expect to spend such a significant period of time in West Hull, but he has taken this club and its community to his heart, giving everything he has got throughout the best years of his career.”

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