Hull FC head coach John Cartwright has named his first Super League team, with six new signings in the starting line-up to face Catalans Dragons.
Jordan Rapana starts at full-back for the Black and Whites, despite playing at centre during pre-season. The New Zealander impressed in the club’s pre-season clash against Castleford Tigers and the former Canberra Raiders will be looking to make his mark on Super League.
Cade Cust and Aidan Sezer partner each other in the halves, with Zak Hardaker in at centre and Amir Bourouh at hooker. John Asiata is the other new face in the line-up in Perpignan and he’ll be determined to get his Hull career off on the right foot as the leader of the pack.
The Black and Whites travelled to Perpignan on Thursday to prepare for the clash but they know they can expect a tough game against Catalans, who are fielding plenty of new signings themselves.
Tommy Makinson and Nick Cotric get the nod on the wings, while Luke Keary will look to direct play on his first outing for the his new club after leaving the NRL. Elliot Whitehead starts on his return to Super League while former Salford Red Devils man Ollie Partington plays, too.
Super League fans have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Tevita Pangai Jr and he gets his Catalans career underway as an interchange.
Catalans Dragons: Arthur Mourgue; Tommy Makinson, Bayley Sironen, Arthur Romano, Nick Cotric; Luke Keary, Cesar Rouge; Chris Satae, Ben Garcia, Romain Navarrete, Tariq Sims, Elliott Whitehead, Ollie Partington.
Bench: Tevita Pangai Jr, Julian Bousquet, Alrix da Costa, Paul Seguier.
Hull FC: Jordan Rapana, Harvey Barron, Zak Hardaker, Tom Briscoe, Lewis Martin; Cade Cust, Aidan Sezer; Herman Ese’ese, Amir Bourouh, Yusuf Aydin, Jed Cartwright, Jordan Lane, John Asiata.
Bench: Jack Ashworth, Denive Balmforth, Brad Fash, Ligo Sao.
