Hands up if you had Herman Ese’ese chasing the Super League Man of Steel award after 16 rounds? Not many, it’s fair to presume.
But to anyone with a Hull FC persuasion, Ese’ese’s form in 2025 is no surprise. In what was a miserable season for the club last year, Hull’s big high was the Auckland-born prop, who, despite the toughness of the year, excelled in the Airlie Birds team.
Statistically, he was one of the best, but you didn’t need a stats sheet to tell you of Ese’ese’s impact. He was a wrecking ball, comfortably Hull’s strongest week in, week out.
And that form has not only continued into a new season but, if anything, got even better. The 30-year-old was therefore rewarded with a new bumper contract by the club earlier this year, and for good measure, he has nine tries to his name, seven in Super League, with the prop not only chasing MOS leader Jake Connor but also Alex Walmsley’s competition record for tries from a prop in a single season.
But speaking of his accolades, Ese’ese remains humble, focusing on two things: improvement and winning rugby league matches.
“It’s an awesome feeling, to be honest, seeing my name up there alongside other star players this season, but I’m just more focused on playing my best footy for this team and this club,” Ese’ese said when asked about being second in the Man of Steel ranking. “I just want to do my bit for the best and put my best foot forward every weekend.
“I’m really happy with how I’ve been going, but in saying that, there is still room for improvement and parts of my game that I want to improve on and get better at. I’m not trying to be too complacent, and I’m always looking to work on things.
“There are things in defence, getting my tackle selection right; it’s all little things, nothing major, but I’m a perfectionist, and I want to get that right. Lasty (Andy Last) has been helping me out, so hopefully I can keep on improving.”
As for tries, Ese’ese has been practically unstoppable near the opposition line. He is targeting Walmsley’s record of 11, knowing he needs five more in the remaining 11 rounds to beat it.
“It’s mad thinking about it,” Ese’ese continued. “Leading into the season opener, I’d have been happy just to score one try, but to get so many tries next to my name, I’m very proud of that, and hopefully I’ll get some more, but it’s the players outside of me who work hard for me to score tries.
“I’m just there at the right place at the right time, but I’m always confident in my ability and what I can do out on the field. Getting the record would be a massive achievement for me. Anything is possible, and I’m pretty confident I can get that. I just need to focus on doing my job for the team and doing my role the best I can do. The tries will come on the back of that.”
Finding a home at Hull, Ese’ese arrived from Brisbane-based NRL franchise the Dolphins and quickly settled into the club. Asked what he put his form down to, Ese’ese replied: “Just being happy on and off the field. The environment here at training since day one of pre-season has changed dramatically from last year, and I think the connection that we’ve built within this group and the coaching staff too – they’ve done a really good job of building the fun, happy environment within the team.
“That has helped me a lot. Our coach John Cartwright is letting me do what I do best and has given me that bit of freedom to go out and play my game. Every time I go out there, I try and do my best for Carty and all of the staff.
“Life has been pretty cruisy, to be honest. I spend a lot of downtime with my Mrs and our dog as well. On my days off we take him to the park. He’s an English Staffy. It’s been good.”
But for Ese’ese, the big goals and the big focuses are on the team, with Hull currently sitting sixth in the table and targeting a first home win of the year against St Helens this Saturday afternoon. Looking to fix up a disappointing result against Warrington, they know where the key issues lie.
“It was our errors,” Ese’ese said. “We need to cut down on our errors, respect the ball, and things like that. It’s the simple fundamentals of catching the ball, holding the ball, and playing the ball. That’s what killed us, our errors, and we need to make sure we clean that up, and we should be sweet.
“We know what’s at stake, and the top six is our main focus. We’re all keen to play some finals footy. I’m confident that we have got the boys to do it. I think we have a great team – there are a lot of skilful players, and we’ve got a good mix of experience and youth as well as a great coaching staff.
“They (St Helens) are going well – they’ve got a really good team, and they got a good win last week. We know what we’re up against; they’ve got a good pack, and they’re a good all-round team, but the focus has to be on ourselves and not worrying too much about them and what they are doing. It’s exciting for us, especially us forwards, going up against them. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
Ese’ese added: “It’s still early, and there are a lot of games still to be played, but I’m confident we can win a lot more games and stay in the top six. That’s our main focus. We want to win as many games as we can, and I’m sure once we have everyone back, we will have the team to do it.”