Judah Rimbu, a hooker from Papua New Guinea, has reached an agreement to join Hull FC. The Black and Whites were considering a move for the dummy-half, according to an exclusive report from Hull Live on Thursday. It is currently understood that the 22-year-old will be their newest addition for 2025 and beyond.
With club great Danny Houghton scheduled to retire at the end of the season, Hull has long considered the hooker position to be one of their primary areas for their current recruitment push. In an interview with Hull Live last autumn, the 35-year-old made his intentions quite evident, and the club is now making the required preparations to guarantee that they have some depth and quality in the position come next season.
Amir Bourouh of the Salford Red Devils is already signed, and Rimbu will be their second new hooking addition. While Denive Balmforth and Jeylan Hodgson, the young combo, have contracts that expire at the end of the year and are still under consideration for a call-up, Morgan Smith is also signed for the upcoming campaign.
While everything is going on, Rimbu is competing for the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup, a league that new head coach John Cartwright is quite familiar with from his time as assistant coach of the Brisbane Broncos. Alongside Super League Dream Team hooker Edwin Ipape, the youthful PNG prospect made his Kumuls debut last autumn and appeared three times for the Pacific nation.
Rimbu, a vital member of the Hunters team, has participated in 58 Queensland Cup games and scored 11 tries, six of which have come this year. Known for his running dummy half style, he scored three tries earlier this year against the Ipswich Jets.
During the preseason, Rimbu also trained with the Brisbane-based NRL team, the Dolphins. Following a protracted international search, the club is certain that the PNG star will lead them to success in 2019.
With John Asiata committed for the 2025 season and beyond, it goes without saying that the entrance of Rimbu will require the release of a current quota player in order to make the transfer possible. The club also has Asiata, Jed Cartwright, Treigh Stewart, Ligi Sao, and Herman Ese’ese, Jayden Okunbor, and Franklin Pele signed up for next year. Carlos Tuimavave is the club’s only current out-of-contract quota player, with the centres deal expiring at the end of 2024
