Hull FC vice-captain Scott Taylor has signed a new five-year contract with Hull FC.
It means that Taylor will now play on at the KCOM Stadium until the of the 2023 season, extending his previous contract by four years and going beyond the duration of the current Sky TV broadcasting contract.
Taylor joined the club at the start of the 2016 season after spells at Hull Kingston Rovers, Wigan Warriors and Salford Red Devils. He recently played for England in Denver against New Zealand, and was named in Wayne Bennett’s training squad for the second stage of the season this week.
The back-to-back Challenge Cup winner and a 2016 Super League Dream Team member has spoken of his delight at signing once more for the club he supported as a child.
“As soon as the club opened talks about staying here, it was a no-brainer for me,” he told HullFC.com.
“This is my team that I’ve grown up with. I’ve never been as happy in my career as I am now. I love playing for my hometown club and there is nowhere else I want to be.
“People talk about there being other options out there, but it doesn’t interest me.
“This is the place that is best for me. I know that I will play my best rugby here, and that’s the reason I have signed again. When you are happy, you play good rugby.
“I wanted to show how committed I was to the cause here by signing a long-term deal.
“It is going to be a big five years of my life – I want us to be lifting a Grand Final trophy during the next five years, challenging for a spot in the top four every year and putting some good Cup runs together.”
“You can see the direction the club is heading in by looking at the boys that have signed deals this year. They’re looking after players who are performing well.
“We have a young team overall, and the right amount of senior blokes in there too. It’s good to keep a low turnover of players every year, and that will help us build.”
Taylor is one of the senior figures in the squad alongside club captain Danny Houghton, Italian captain Mark Minichiello and Tongan skipper Sika Manu and his coach Lee Radford says he is thrilled to have one of his most experienced members of the squad committing to the club.
“He’s got the right sort of qualities that we’re looking to tap into and improve on,” said Radford.
“He’s been fantastic and he’s been really consistent since signing for the club.
“We’re really looking to seeing his consistency improve, especially on the international scene after his performance for England in Denver.”
For the best coverage of this week’s Hull derby, make sure you get hold of a copy of next week’s League Express, available in the shops on Monday or digitally on Sunday evening.
