Lee Radford on Tongan Terminator: “If Sika Manu says he’s scary, he must be scary!”

Drew Darbyshire 23 Jul 2019 1:59 PM

Hull FC coach Lee Radford is made up with the way the club are going about their business ahead of 2020.

The Airlie Birds have been very active in the transfer market over recent months, with Tonga duo Manu Ma’u and Mahe Fonua joining the club from NRL sides Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers.

St Helens winger Adam Swift will also link up with Hull next year, and Radford is really pleased with how their recruitment and retention is going at the moment.

Radford told loverugbyleague.com: “Normally you miss out on a few players you identify but the club have managed to go and get them.

“Hand on heart, we have got the players we put forward to the chief executive [James Clark]. He has done a really good job in getting them, we’ve got a couple more to announce as well which I’m sure will add some quality to us.

“I’m really pleased with how our squad is shaping up for next year and hopefully they are coming to a Cup winning or Grand Final winning side.”

Back-rower or loose forward Ma’u – who has earned nine caps for Tonga and six caps for New Zealand – will join Hull on a two-year deal.

And Radford thinks the ‘Tongan Terminator’ is a big coup not just for Hull, but for Super League as well.

He added: “I asked Sika Manu about Manu [Ma’u] and asked what is he like as a bloke and Sika said he is scary, so when Sika says that – you know he’s a scary bloke because Sika terrifies me!

“I think the signing is a shot in the arm for Super League. I’d like to thank the owner and the chief executive for getting him over the line. When I put his name forward, I thought ‘is this realistic?’ so I got every Polynesian I knew to ring him and put in a good word for us, so we did alright for that one!

“I’m looking forward to getting Manu over. In every interview I’ve heard, all his coaches have said he’s fantastic and I think he’ll be good for us but for Super League as well.”