Hull FC recruit Jake Arthur admits he hasn’t closed the door on the possibility of returning to the NRL one day.
Arthur has joined the Black and Whites on a three-year deal in a move that gives the 23-year-old the chance to get some consistent game time under his belt, develop his skills and establish himself in the first grade.
The opportunity to lead a team, as he will in west Hull, was one that he was never given down under, with senior minutes during spells at Parramatta Eels, Manly Sea Eagles and Newcastle Knights being few and far between.
Arthur did make 22 appearances, under his father Brad Arthur, at the Eels, but most of his game time came in the New South Wales Cup. And, the same can be said for his stint at Manly, where he spent three seasons but made just seven outings.
He did end the NRL season in the Newcastle pivots, having joined the Knights halfway through 2025, but with Adam O’Brien’s side on the slide, he couldn’t inspire Newcastle to victory.
As such, it’s fair to say his spell in the NRL didn’t end the way he would have wanted it to, but he still has ambitions of cracking the competition down under one day.
“It was pretty tough at Newcastle,” Arthur told Serious About Rugby League. “We didn’t finish the season very well at all so it definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to leave.
“But, I want to work hard here and I’d love to go back to the NRL one day and finish on a high note with some wins.
“I learned a lot in that period [at Newcastle]. It was a good opportunity. I played my first NRL game with my brother too which was awesome. That was massive for us.
“At the moment I’m just focused on improving my game and playing my best footy here but yeah, I definitely wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t go back.”
The chance to make the move to England with Hull FC ensures he will spent the next couple of seasons at least under the tutelage of John Cartwright. He’s a man that is highly respected in the game down under and the opportunity to work with Cartwright is something that excites the half-back.
“It’s been really good working with Carty,” he added. “We haven’t had too much footy chat yet, we’ve just been getting to know each other.
“I had a few friends from Manly that were coached by him and they all spoke really highly of him. He’s done a lot in the game so I’ve been trying to pick his brain and it will be awesome to learn as much I can from him.”
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