Jordan Abdull makes Catalans Dragons ‘regrets’ admission and reflects on Hull KR spell

Hull FC recruit Jordan Abdull admits he has some regrets about how his final few months at Catalans Dragons panned out. Abdull, who has penned a three-year deal with the Black and Whites, spent last season on loan from Hull KR at the Stade Gilbert Brutus after falling out of favour at Craven Park.

The half-back started the season well and played a key role for Steve McNamara’s side as they won seven of their first eight games in all competitions, with three tries coming in that time. However, injury struck and he went on to play just eight more games over the course of the campaign, including just one outing in the final two months of the season.

Abdull admits he struggled being away from his family during his spell in Perpignan and that may have got in the way of performing at his best when fit over the second half of the campaign. However, the 28-year-old took plenty from the experience and he’ll use that to his advantage as gets the latest chapter of his career underway at Hull.

“It’s one of those that when I look back at the end of my career, I’ll be glad that I left and experienced France,” Abdull told Serious About RL. “It’s a beautiful place to live and Steve Mac is one of the best coaches I’ve worked with.

“He really understood me and until I got injured it was going really well, but towards the end I let my own feelings towards missing my family probably take over and I probably have a couple of regrets in terms of how I handled myself in the last two or three months.

“It’s part of my journey and the growing up that I needed to do. Now that I’m home I’ve got no excuses. I’ve got access to my family and the only person that can stop my progression is myself. I’m determined to make sure that’s not the case.”

Of course, prior to the loan move to Catalans, Abdull spent four seasons as a regular at Hull KR, making 55 outings in red and white and scoring 13 tries.

“I loved my time at Hull KR,” he added. “When I first went on loan there in 2017 they were in the Championship and I’d like to say that I played a pivotal part in the rebuild of Hull KR, similar to what I’m doing now with Hull FC.

“It was a rebuild with a lot of stuff going on off the field to try and improve as a club and I would like to say that I played a big part in getting Hull KR to where they are now. Obviously I wasn’t there last year but I was there for a lot of the dark days and when it started to turn around.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Hull KR and worked under three really good coaches in Tony (Smith), Willie (Peters) and Tim Sheens and picked up a wealth of knowledge from all three.

“It’s difficult to reflect while you’re still actively playing because you don’t want to say things about other clubs while you’re representing a new one but once my career’s done and I sit back and look at my time with Hull KR, London, Hull FC, France, it was all part of my journey. Every place I’ve been at I’ve always come out of it with different life lessons and rugby knowledge.”