rugby league<\/a> player in the world, dependent on what position, area, or type of player Hull need.<\/p>\nBut Hull’s resource doesn’t end there, with one member of the squad playing a key role in 2026’s recruitment: Herman Ese’ese. Of course, the Hull prop is no stranger to many NRL players after a career that spanned five different clubs: the Dolphins, Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Knights, Brisbane Broncos, and Canterbury Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
Hull are well aware of that, with Ese’ese used as a driving force to help sign Sam Lisone and offer his opinion on others. It’s something Ese’ese, who was signed up to a long-term deal earlier this year, is happy to do, and something that may even open the door in terms of a future career beyond his playing days.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, I’ve got a recruitment job lined up after my football career,” Ese’ese joked to Hull Live. “But it’s good \u2013 I don’t mind giving my feedback to any players that I know and what they bring. I give my honest opinion and then Richie takes it from there. Whatever he asks me, I give my honest opinion and try to help wherever I can.<\/p>\n
“With Sam, he called me and asked me what Hull was like. After speaking to him, I knew straight away what his answer would be. I just know what he’s like. He knows a few of the boys, Ligi Sao, John Asiata, and Aidan Sezer, and he’s just really keen to rip in and come here and get some success within the team.<\/p>\n
“Other players, Richie has also messaged me about. He does a great job recruiting the right players and I just try to put my input in whenever I can or when I know a player the club are looking at.”<\/p>\n
And while Hull have signed the likes of James Bell, Jake Arthur, Harvie Hill and co., it takes no second guesses to know which player Ese’ese is most buoyed to play alongside once again: Lisone. The Black and Whites lured the big prop away from Leeds Rhinos on a two-year deal from 2026, with the big bopper hoping to deliver the impact and punch to the Hull pack that Cartwright and co. desire. He’s also a player that Ese’ese knows inside out.<\/p>\n
“We grew up together in South Auckland and we’ve played a lot of footy, both together and against each other,” Ese’ese said. “It’ll be good to have him in the team next year. I know what he brings. He’s a great player; he’s probably the best impact player in the competition, and that’s something that we need.”<\/p>\n
Ese’ese also singled out Bell as a ball-playing loose forward, someone recruited strategically and who will help spell John Asiata next term, ensuring the way Hull play \u2013 and that crucial middle ball-playing link \u2013 never wavers.<\/p>\n
“He will be a massive boost as well for us,” Ese’ese added. “When we lost John Asiata, there was a massive dent in our team. John fixes everything in our team, our structure and how we shape up and move forward, but James Bell is definitely a like-for-like player. He’s a great ball player and a good defensive player. I’m looking forward to playing with him too.<\/p>\n
“We’ve recruited well, but now it’s about working hard this off-season. Do that, and then we can push on again next year.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Black and Whites have recruited in numbers for 2026.Hull FC have signed Sam Lisone for the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4102],"tags":[127714,115424,154783,4151,6531,154782,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-462409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-herman-eseese","9":"tag-hull-fc","10":"tag-james-bell","11":"tag-rugby","12":"tag-rugby-league","13":"tag-sam-lisone","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115291875578386014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hull](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_Sam-Lisone.jpg\")
Hull FC have signed Sam Lisone for the 2026 season. (Image: SW PIX)<\/p>\n