Herman Ese’ese was confirmed this week as Hull FC’s Player of the Month for April – the second consecutive month he has won the award – but despite his current form, head coach John Cartwright insists the prop forward can get even better.
Ese’ese has arguably been the leading front rower in Super League this year. He’s played huge minutes, averaging an hour of playing time every week, while his workload and contributions are as good as any.
And while Ese’ese’s punch is well-known, it’s perhaps the defensive side of his game that is as impressive as anything, and while you don’t need numbers to realise that the 30-year-old has been bang at it this year, they certainly do the player no harm.
In ten Super League rounds so far, he has made 279 tackles, averaging 27 a game. However, his tackle efficiency is right up there at 95%. He has missed just 12 attempts all year and has given away no penalties.
With the ball, he has made 154 carries, averaging 15 a game for an average metre total of 110. His total metres are 1,105. He has busted through 174 tackles and made 81 offloads while making just four errors.
For good measure, he also has seven tries to his name in both competitions this year and has been available for every game – with Cartwright leading his plaudits – but also stating the areas where he can get even better.
“He never misses a minute,” the head coach said in his weekly press conference. “He plays big minutes on the field, and he doesn’t like coming off. He likes to play longer, but for the betterment of the team, we limit him to what he’s doing at the minute.
“He’s a quiet and humble sort of fella. He doesn’t say a lot; he just goes and gets his work done. You don’t see many front-rowers that are able to score the tries that he does. He’s at the stage of his career where we can still get more out of him – we can make him better, and he can make himself better. The best is still to come, I think.
“Physically we can keep working on him and get him ready for longer minutes. The longer he can play at that level he’s at at the moment, the harder it’s going to be for oppositions to be able to handle him.
“He had a couple of really good seasons in the NRL. He’s at a good age. He’s at the peak of his powers, but I’d say there’s still plenty of improvement left in him.”