HULL FC football manager Motu Tony insists his club has not reached out and made any formal offers to potential new signings for 2017, and he says it will be a while before any announcements are made.
The club has been in the news continuously with a number of big stars being linked to it for next year, including former Super League halves Blake Green and Thomas Leuluai.
However, Tony told League Express that after returning from his annual trip to the southern hemisphere, no offers have been made to anyone just yet.
“They will be a while off yet,” he said.
“The Chairman, Lee (Radford) and myself haven’t really thrown any names about yet; we’re evaluating it as we go along.
“We haven’t made any offers. We’re still weighing things up; names are being thrown about that we’re obviously being linked with, but it’s very early days yet.
“We’re travelling well at the moment so you’ve got to give those guys a chance, and we’ll re-assess things eventually.”
Tony also appeared to calm talk of a move for Leuluai.
“Thomas is a friend of mine so I speak to him regularly – but as a friend,” he said.
“He’s under contract and the Warriors are actually playing really well. I wouldn’t like to speculate on players under contract at other clubs, that would simply be wrong.”
Tony spent time assessing both the NRL and international scene whilst away, and he said the potential of luring some overseas stars over is a job made easier by the contingent already in place in Hull.
“The trip was great. It’s always good to see a few things regarding what’s going on in both the NRL and some of the international camps.
“I go over for a little bit of everything, seeing if there’s anything on or off the field that could help us going forward primarily, but just to keep the finger on the pulse in general.
“It’s not just limited to Rugby League either, we watch rugby union too.
“We were watching Frank (Pritchard) and Sika (Manu) as they were involved internationally, it was a good weekend and I was in the New Zealand camp, as well as the PNG and Fiji camps too – there was a lot going on in the time I was back there.
“Traditionally we’ve had a good affiliation with New Zealand and the islands. We’re sticking to a process that suits our club and has suited us historically.
“It helps when you have guys like Feka, Frank and Sika there already, because the new imports know they can settle a lot better.”
And Tony stressed that despite ongoing speculation about the future, it is vital to focus on the here and now as Hull look to push for silverware in 2016.
“The boys are travelling well. We’re happy with the way things are going but it’s feet on the ground time still; no trophies are won at this time of the year, it’s August and October when that is all decided.”
This story originally appeared in League Express. Get your copy of Monday’s edition online by clicking here.