Disappointing but not really surprising.

[urlhttps://www.hullfc.com/blog/2020/05/19/naulago-to-return-to-rugby-union-at-end-of-season/[/url

Real shame but sure we got him for peanuts & he is entitled to a substantial contract, we do have too many wingers though ( when fit ). BUT he is the only one who regularly busts the line from deep & has the pace to go all the way, really exciting player with plenty of improvement still in him.

Best of luck for the future, although brief you have been a rare chink of brightness in an otherwise drab, clueless attack !!

Gutted but as said not surprised. Good luck to the lad and he sure has given us some good memories.

Well I’m gutted, Ratu is absolutely breathtaking in his short spell with us, power and pace as good as any playing here. Some questions about his positional sense, but when he gets it right he smashes the bejesus out of his opponent’s. What a find by Radders, an exciting missile powered player, and contrary to the not surprising departure narrative, one wonders if Wigan Saints or Leeds would have succumbed.

Good luck Ratu on your hopefully return this season, and with a heavy heart wishing you all the best in the RFU.

yes i think there would, hes a union man whos still employed by the army, he would have been offered a big contract by union i would have thought, hes 30 next year and could be his last big paycheck, one i doubt any in league could match, so again no real suprise and good luck Ratu

Hull offered Ratu an extension of his contract, but it seems it wasn’t tempting enough, all those who were privileged to watch him live, will be saddened at his departure, speed and power, valuable assets.

Sadly inevitable and not unexpected and will indeed go on with the best wishes of all the Hull fans I'm sure. Sadly League just can not compete with the money on offer in Union and also he states its to be back closer to his family & friends.
He'll be a big miss no doubt but we all knew this would happen at some point.
Best of luck to the guy

He’s signed with Bristol

up and coming team ,top flight, big money no doubt dont see why not, anyway hes gone next year, but i hope for the rest of this year he continues the form he has shown,

We lose ratu wire sign ingliss . How do they keep under the cap !

BMM leaving to go back to Australia

There’s goanna be an investigation.

Jones will replace him next season

Absolutely no way will they be on the same wage

Doubt it now, Jones will be a very high earner and they are also going to sign Mcmeeken

Gutted but not surprised by his exit , Scored some crackers for us and was a pleasure watching them also .

Im not really bothered about him going tbh. Yes he can attack and score tries but his defence and positioning wasnt great and were loaded up with wingers and centres

Have to say I agree, will miss his value for money though as 50% of his salary was off the cap this season.

The wing position is the least of our worries.

Love the fact he can create something from nothing.
We’re well stocked for outside backs so, if we’re able, I’d spend the cap money elsewhere.

But 100% of his wage is on the clubs wage bill - id let him go now tbh

Explain to me which of these other centres and wingers puts bums on seats? Which ones are going to be breaking the line like he does, he's been one of the very few to give us excitement in the last couple of years.
You talk about his defensive frailties, what are they precisely? Yes, like most players he has some, but his attacking prowess and what he adds to the team overall far and away exceed this, if you want to point a finger regarding defence then you only need look at how shockingly poor Fonua was in his first stint, he scored some sensational/important tries but he was terrible in defence, far more so than Naulago, yet pretty much everyone welcomed him (Fonua) back with open arms and the massive contract too.
Indeed, doesn't it highlight a failure in bringing in a very high earner in a position we didn't actually need as we are "loaded up" and this has bitten us, as we have no space on cap/money to offer better contract terms?

Also, what was the reason we didn't have Ratu on a longer contract in the first place, was that his or the clubs decision, it's even more gutting knowing we won't get a fee for him on top of losing a quality player.

We signed him as a raw recruit in February 2019, and exercised a one-year extension to his contract in July.

Not much more we could do, especially as by then he'd signed up with a RU agent.

He's a rugby union player that lives in the south west and until last year had absolutely no interest in rugby league. He was always going to go back given the opportunity, the fact the money he was offered is beyond anything he could ever earn in rugby league sealed the deal.

He's an exciting player but still very raw, if he was in his early 20's then it would be a huge loss, but he's nearly 29, his one weapon is pace and that's not going to last much longer.

Good luck to him, its been a long journey to get to where he is, he deserves some success.

One weapon, Have you actually watched any of the games, he's more than just a speed merchant, he can actually bend his back and tackle as well, it's a massive loss to the club. One can only hope Fonua has improved his fitness when the season restarts and starts doing the things we know he's capable of.

Hello from Bristol, we'll do our best to look after him. Seemed to really enjoy his time in Hull from his statement.

As for playing I've seen the highlight reels but can't recall him offhand from watching SL on sky this season. Seems he is a physical and quick kind of player, just the kind we need on the wing right now? Anything else we should know?

We'd also welcome new fans to following us (can watch all our games free on prem rugby website on following Monday/Tuesday if you don't have BT), think you'd like our Bears style of play as it's not a forward-driven grindfest and like to sling it about (barring bad weather earlier this season) plus we not like toffs at London clubs/unmentionables down the road. Drink up thy zider innum