Gareth Ellis to play on for another year at Hull FC

Hull have confirmed that veteran forward Gareth Ellis has signed a new one-year contract extension.

Ellis, 38, came out of retirement in 2019 to make 20 appearances for the club, who he joined back in 2013 and led to consecutive Challenge Cup wins.

He said: “After my initial comeback early in 2019, I didn’t expect to be in and around the squad for the rest of the season. I thought it would just be a bit of a final swansong for me.

“But I had that taste and it made me realise that I was still enjoying playing and that turned into me playing 20 games which is pretty much a full season for me.

“It was probably about 10 or 15 games into the season when people began asking me the question are to whether I thought I could go around again in 2020. And with how I was feeling, I was pretty sure I was able to do so.”

Ellis has made more than 400 first grade appearances since making his debut in 1999, turning out for Wakefield, Leeds and Wests Tigers, as well as making 33 international appearances for Great Britain and England.

Coach Lee Radford added: “The role Gaz is going to play for us is going to be different to the one he played a couple of years ago, but as he adapts and evolves he will be just as important.

“His influence as a senior player is huge and he has the voice and respect amongst the group to make a difference.

“Even at 38, I still think there is more development to come in his game. He has the skills and ball handling ability to promote the ball more going into contact and that is something we’re going to work on in the off-season.”