It’s been a long road to recovery for Hull FC’s Roman Dawson. Here’s the back on that journey, his comeback, and kicking on at the club.
Hull FC outside back Roman Dawson.
There were a whopping 708 days between drinks for Hull FC outside back Roman Dawson, with the young outside back making his comeback to a rugby league field last month after cruel, back-to-back ACL injuries.
Suffering the first rupture in a reserve game against Huddersfield Giants back in April 2024, Dawson worked hard to get himself back ahead of 2025, with the winger, also capable of playing centre and no stranger to the back row spot, copping a recurrence of the same injury in pre-season training and being subsequently ruled out for the entire season.
There was no surprise, then, that relief was the main emotion after lacing the boots to feature against Hull KR in his comeback game last month. But that relief has now turned to confidence – and so it should.
Dawson, now 20 years old, has picked up where he left off. He’s been a try-scoring machine in Hull’s lower grades since breaking onto the scene in the early 2020s and has five in his two reserve outings so far this year.
And given he came off in the first half against Rovers and the second against St Helens, it’s all the more impressive. But there’s a desire now in the player to keep going, to get through the full 80 minutes and show just why all the hard work over the last 23 months was worth it.
“I was in rehab for nearly two years,” Dawson, speaking after his hat-trick against the Saints, told Hull Live. “There’s been some tough times, especially mentally, but I’ve had the boys round me every day, especially Ligi Sao, John Asiata, Joe Batchelor, and people like that, who were big influences on me. I don’t think I’d be here without them.
“It’s been a long road. You hear stories about people doing it again after returning and it’s always in the back of your head, but I’ve got good friends and good family supporting me. I never doubted that I would come back. Even after the second one. I knew I would return.
“But the boys, my mates, my family – they were all huge for me. If it weren’t for them, I don’t think I would be here playing. I owe them a lot.”
Determined to hit the ground running again, Dawson, who has risen through Hull’s scholarship and academy sides, continued: “It’s just so good to be back. A big part of it all has been the confidence part, but I knew I had the strength to get through it.
“Danny (Houghton) has also been really good with me. He just tells me to go out and enjoy it. There’s no pressure, and he just wants me to enjoy myself and he lets me do my thing.
“It’s all positive now and I can look forward. In rehab, you wake up, and you know what your day is going to look like. You know it’s going to be the same thing, but now it’s all different, working hard in training, playing, and trying to earn that spot in the first team.
“I’m not getting ahead of myself, though; I’m trying to stay grounded and just take it one step at a time. I need to play a full 80 minutes and then take it from there. I’m definitely not getting above my station and I’m just taking it one step at a time. But it’s great to be back. I just want to keep playing now and take it from there.”
Touching down for three first-half tries, Dawson – partnered with Ryan Westerman on Hull’s left edge – took a catch in the second half, and after landing and the tackle that followed, he was clearly in some discomfort. But it’s nothing to worry about – and he will be good to go again against Bradford Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s nothing major,” Dawson confirmed. “It’s just one of those things coming back after a long injury. It’s nothing to be worried about. I’m all good.
“I’m just building gradually. It’s not an overnight thing and I know I’ve got to take my time with it.”
And on the tries, the young back said: “It gives me a lot more confidence, especially after being out for so long. I was struggling with it for a bit but scoring those tries really does give me confidence.
“I’ve also got a good centre alongside me in there in Ryan, who makes it easy for me. He’s good. He practises it every day (his catch and pass) and there’s not a training session where he doesn’t do it. It certainly pays off in the games.
“We do a lot of that sort of stuff; in every hand-eye co-ordination session, we practise finishing and scoring in the corners on the pads and stuff. The club is massive on getting a proper grip and the way we switch hands to get our fend out. It’s a big thing for outside backs.
“Hopefully it continues to pay off – that’s what we like to do – score the tries, but it all comes off the work done in the middle of the field. I just do the easy stuff, really, and they do all the hard work.”
Out of contract at the end of the season, Dawson also has one eye on the future, with his goals now to work hard and pay the club back with some stern performances and earn a new deal.
“This is where I want to be,” Dawson added. “They’ve done a lot for me, this club, and I owe them a lot. Hopefully, I can show what I’m about now and earn a new contract.”