A look at Hull FC’s move for Suliasi Vunivalu.
Hull FC interest Suliasi Vunivalu in action for French rugby union side La Rochelle.(Image: Getty)
Hull FC are interested in signing Suliasi Vunivalu and are hoping to complete a deal to land the Fijian winger for the 2027 season and beyond.
Vunivalu is well known within rugby league circles, having scored 86 tries in a successful 111-game stint in the NRL with Melbourne Storm. He won Premierships with the Victoria-based outfit in 2016, 2018, and 2020 and also featured on the international stage for Fiji.
Leaving the Storm in 2020, Vunivalu then moved to rugby union, first appearing for Queensland Reds before joining French Top 14 club La Rochelle, where he resides today.
Here, Hull Live takes a look at Hull’s move for the former NRL winger, why they are targeting the player, and some factors around the potential signing.
Where is the deal at?
Hull have entered talks to sign Vunivalu and are known to have met the player last week, with incoming head coach Steve McNamara showing the Fijian around the MKM Stadium and the nearby town of Beverley. The deal isn’t done yet, but the club hope they have put the hard work in to convince the player, who wants to return to rugby league, to sign.
Why sign another winger?
A fair question, given Hull tied down young wingers Harvey Barron and Lewis Martin to four- and five-year deals earlier this year. But there’s a key word already used there: ‘young’. Both players, at 21 (soon to be 22) and 23, have plenty of development to go in order to maximise their potential, and they have bags of time to make a fist of it at this level.
The signing of Vunivalu, should Hull pull it off, offers the club depth and competition to the wing position. It’s also unclear whether out-of-contract Tom Briscoe will be kept on beyond the end of the year, and Hull need a senior winger among their roster. There’s no denying the role Briscoe has played in bringing on Barron and Martin and Hull need someone to continue that. If Briscoe does move on, and that’s an if right now, then Vunivalu’s responsibility will go beyond what he delivers on the pitch. Having three wingers into two also ensures high performance standards and maintains accountability. There are no guarantees to selection, and that’s the way it should be.
Vunivalu’s age and fitness
It’s no secret that the player is currently out injured with an ACL injury that has heavily restricted his 2024/25 rugby union season. However, Vunivalu, who turns 31 in November, is expected to be fit for the start of 2027. Like every player who suffers the injury, he will have gone through a lengthy rehab process and will be confident of getting back to full fitness in the new year.
Seemingly, Hull are confident that that will be the case, and they don’t have to look far to see it can be done. Cue Maika Sivo. Vunivalu’s fellow countryman is two years older and has taken Super League by storm this year, scoring a staggering 27 tries in 15 appearances for Leeds Rhinos after missing the entire 2025 season due to the same ACL injury.
Currently only 30, Vunivalu has plenty of time to recover and hit his stride once again – and let’s not forget, he will work with new backroom staff at Hull FC should he sign. The club are bolstering their performance departments with Nathan Mill joining from St Helens. Other appointments will also be made, giving Hull the best chance to get their players out on the field week in and week out.
The salary cap factor that weighs in Hull’s favour
Hull are finding things quite tight on the cap and the reality is they will need to move on some players to stay under it with what’s been retained and, of course, what’s coming in. On that front, Hull have signed Bailey Hodgson and Alrix Da Costa among some contract renewals this year. However, in Vunivalu, Hull are at an advantage.
As a player signing from a rugby union club, only 50% of his salary would count on the cap next year, and only 75% would count in his second year. And while he would take up a quota spot being a Fijian-born player, that’s a big factor in Hull’s favour.
Other recruitment and competition
The salary cap factor helps Hull look at other targets in other positions and gives them a better chance of getting them in. On that front, Hull Live understands a half-back and back-rower are on the radar, with Steve McNamara already getting the pieces moving ahead of his arrival at the club this autumn. But the cap factor means Vunivalu won’t be short of other suitors, and it’d be mad to think at least one other Super League club won’t show some interest. At this stage, it’s a fair bet to say he will be a Super League player next season, but where is still to be determined.