FORMER Hull FC and Bradford Bulls prop Franklin Pele has been handed a surprise lifeline by NRL club, South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Pele has most recently been plying his trade with third-tier rugby union side Racing Club de Narbonne after starting the 2025 Championship season with the Bulls.

After just 11 appearances, however, the 24-year-old left for France following an unsuccessful spell in Super League with Hull FC.

With the Black and Whites, Pele made just eight appearances after joining from Canterbury Bulldogs.

Pele will take up a place in the Rabbitohs’ New South Wales Cup side for the 2026 campaign, with Rabbitohs’ recruitment manager Brent Hill confirming as such on the Rabbitohs Radio Podcast.

“He’s a very big unit,” Hill said. “He hasn’t arrived from France yet; he’s waiting for his daughter’s passport.”

“When he arrives, he’s a very big boy, as big a front-rower you’ll get. He’s a big front-rower, which we need.”