Hull close in
on Faumuina

Challenge Cup winners Hull are close to signing New Zealand international Sione Faumuina in a short-term deal as they set their eyes on the double.

The 24-year-old Faumuina, a stand-off or back row forward, has completed his commitments for the year with New Zealand Warriors and is set to fly over for the last two matches of the regular engage Super League season and the play-offs.

It is a similar deal to the one that will see Australian Test star Andrew Johns join Warrington and, coincidentally, they are set to line up against each other at the KC Stadium on Friday September 16.

?We?re fighting fire with fire,? said Hull?s chief executive David Plummer. ?He could be playing against Andrew Johns once and possibly twice.

?We?re just trying to tie the final bits up and we?re getting close. There are just a few issues like a work permit and insurance to sort out. We?re working to a deadline but we?re reasonably confident.

?We wouldn?t do this unless it was a star player. I am sure he will improve our chances and it shows our supporters that we are not going to rest on our laurels for the rest of the season.?

Faumuina, whose last appearance for the Kiwis was in the 2004 Anzac Test, still has two years to run on his contract with the Warriors but has secured a temporary release and could make his Hull debut at Wakefield on Sunday week if he is granted a work permit.

But like Johns, Faumuina runs the risk of missing the first match of the Gillette Tri-Nations Series between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on October 15 which clashes with the engage Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford.

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Thanks to www.superleague.co.ukfor this article.