CARLOS TUIMAVAVE is entering his eighth season as a Hull FC player and is doing so as club captain, a situation he says he couldn’t have imagined when he first moved to England.
The Auckland-born centre signed for Hull aged 23, ahead of the 2016 season after making only a handful of NRL appearances for New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights.
His first two campaigns for Hull brought silverware, with back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs. And Tuimavave has never looked back.
“If you’d told me back then (I’d still be at Hull) I’d have thought you were crazy,” said Tuimavave, who at 31 is now well settled in Yorkshire with his wife Suzy and their four children.
“The plan was to come here for a couple of years and then eventually go back to the NRL. But we had that bit of success in 2016 and 2017 with the Challenge Cups and that was probably a big factor in me staying.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here; we love the club and the city. Everyone has been great to me and my family and I can’t thank them enough.
“This club means everything. I’ve been here for so long; it holds a special place in my heart.
“They gave an opportunity to a young 23-year-old, they gave me a chance to come over here and play regular first-grade footy.
“I’d like to think I’ve matured as a person and as a player and I’ve got Hull FC to thank for that.”
Tuimavave now hopes to do justice to the club captaincy, after being chosen by new Hull coach Tony Smith to succeed the departed Luke Gale in the role.
One of Hull’s quieter squad members admits he will lead with actions first and foremost: “When Tony approached me to be captain, I told him that I was not going to change who I am as a person.
“Obviously there will be times when I stand up and speak and give a few words to the boys but I definitely like to lead with my actions and I’d like to think the boys will follow me.”
Tuimavave has spent pre-season making a cautious recovery from surgery, following the Achilles tendon rupture that forced him to miss much of the 2022 season, and he remains on track to play in Hull’s Super League opener on February 19 against Castleford Tigers.
In keeping with the general mood at Hull, he is cautious in setting out the club’s ambitions.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’ll win the Super League or the Challenge Cup. We know where we want to be as a team, and we know what we need to do to get there,” he said.
“We’ve started pre-season well; we’re building new systems. Tactically I don’t think we’ll be at our best in round one but I’d like to think we’ve got a good group here and Tony will get the best out of us.
“As long as we’re getting better every week, that will take us a long way to being where we want to be.”