Gareth Ellis has penned a new contract with Hull FC to remain with the club for the 2020 season having come out of retirement earlier this year. The 38-year-old announced his retirement at the end of the 2017 campaign to become the Black and Whites football manager but it was a short-lived absence as he made his return to rugby two weeks into the 2019 season.
Ellis answered the call from head coach Lee Radford to help the Airlie Birds end a 13-game losing run and made 20 appearances as the KCOM Stadium outfit just missed out on the play-offs. The two-time Challenge Cup winning-skipper will be the oldest and longest-serving player in the Betfred Super League next season and could even break the record for the oldest player in the competition’s history, but he says he feels his body can still stand up to the physicality of the game.
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Ellis said: “After my initial comeback early in 2019, I didn’t expect to be in and around the squad for the rest of the season. I thought it would just be a bit of a final swansong for me. “But I had that taste and it made me realise that I was still enjoying playing and that turned into me playing 20 games which is pretty much a full season for me.
“It was probably about 10 or 15 games into the season when people began asking me the question as to whether I thought I could go around again in 2020. And with how I was feeling, I was pretty sure I was able to do so.” Hull FC have also announced 21-year-old forward Joe Cator has joined the club from Leigh Centurions, penning a new two-year deal to become the club’s eighth signing of the off-season.
