Newcastle Knights hooker Fa'amanu Brown has decided to leave the NRL club, inking a new contract that will see him join the Super League.
A New Zealand and Samoan international, Brown has signed with Hull FC on a one-year contract. His departure from Newcastle also comes after reports emerged that he had been offered to several Super League clubs, and his management informed clubs that he would be open to returning toย England.
This isn't the first time Brown has played in the Super League, with the hooker joining the Featherstone Rovers after he failed to find an NRLย contract in 2021. The stint saw him play 25 games for the club and register 88 points.
After coming through the junior system at theย Cronulla Sharks, Brown would make hisย NRLย debut in 2014 for the club and would spend the next four seasons with the club, appearing in 24 games.
His lack of game time would see him move to the Bulldogs for two separate stints over the course of his career, as well as the Knights andย Wests Tigers.
Fa'amanu Brownย would also make amass eight appearances for the Samoan national team between 2016 and 2022. This included being a member of theย Rugby Leagueย World Cup last year alongside the likes ofย Jarome Luai,ย Stephen Crichtonย andย Joseph Suaalii.
โI'm really privileged to be joining Hull FC. Something I have always wanted to do throughout my career is stamp my name on the Super League competition and I'm just so excited for the opportunity," Brown toldย hullfc.com.
โI've watched a fair bit of Super League on TV whilst I've been in Australia and I kept up with it whilst I was at Featherstone in the Championship. The fans over in England are crazy!
โI've had a really good chat with Tony Smith and we just clicked straight away. To be honest, we didn't chat about footy that much. It was mostly about life away from footy and he said that if everything is looking after itself off the field, then you've got a good chance of performing at your best on the field. I think that's part of having a successful team.
โI debuted in the NRL at five-eighth and I've played a bit of hooker. But like I said to Tony, wherever you put me I will do a job and I'm willing to die for the club whose colours I wear on my back.
โWith the forward pack the club has in 2024, it's going to be fun to play behind those guys. You've got to expect some quick play-the-balls and it's about playing what you see from those. It's exciting for us guys in the halves and it's going to be just as exciting for some of the talented outside backs at the club to play off.
โI've certainly done my research on all of the boys, and all of the guys coming over from Australia are people I have played with before, so I'm looking forward to linking up with them again.โ
His arrival at Hull FC will see him join overseas recruits Franklin Pele, Herman Ese'ese and Jayden Okunbor, as well as domestic arrivals such as Liam Tindall, Jack Ashworth, Morgan Smith, Jack Walker and Frenchman Damel Diakhate.
Hull FC head coach Tony Smith spoke on the arrival of Brown and can't wait til he joins the club for the upcoming 2024 Super League season.
โSimply, he is what I would call a footy player. He's got the ability to run the ball and he can take control of a game and that's what I really like about him. He's smart and it's a really good pickup for the club," Smith said.
โNot only that, but he's a great human being too. We connected well when we had a chat over the phone recently and I can tell he's going to be great for the culture we are trying to create here. He's got a great personality.
โHaving sampled footy both in the Southern and the Northern Hemisphere is a good thing. I like the fact he has played in England before and that he has experience of playing in this country. I think that's going to hold him in good stead.
โI can just sense a real hunger about Nu and how he wants to hit the ground running for us. He'll be joining us just after being in camp with the Kiwis, which is a great achievement for him, so we hope he brings that confidence along with him and that he can make a great start to his career at Hull.โ
