Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs prop Franklin Pele has reportedly found a new home for next season and beyond, with the enforcer set to exit Belmore.
The former Australian Schoolboy was recruited from the Cronulla Sharks to join the Bulldogs at the end of last season, having spent most of 2022 in the NSW Cup with the Newtown Jets, the feeder club of the Sharks.
Now Hull Live reports that Pele, who stands above 190cm and 130kg, will be Super League bound with Hull FC for the 2024 season and beyond- a club he was linked to earlier in the year in May.
This news comes despite Franklin Pele being currently contracted until the end of the 2024 season, meaning he will need permission from the club to leave before the end of his contract.
Earlier in the year, Bulldogs General Manager Phil Gould dismissed the rumours that he was set to join the English Super League club, but it is understood that the club has persisted in pursuing the 22-year-old, and the deal is close to becoming finalised.
Pele has appeared in six first-grade for the Bulldogs this season but has failed to lock down a spot in the team which has seen him in and out of the NRL and reserve grade. While he has shown promise in some outings, he has only managed 14 tackle busts, 42 tackles and 395 running metres in the six games.
Under Cameron Ciraldo, Pele also hasn't been given the minutes he would have liked when finally given the opportunity to play in the NRL. Entering off the interchange bench, his six games consisted of two games under ten minutes of playing time and four games of over ten minutes but under 20 minutes of playing time.