The Sydney Roosters will be making the move over to Hull ahead of the 2027 season
Junior Pauga in action for Sydney Roosters (Image: Getty)
Hull FC have added to their outside back line-up for the 2027 Super League with the addition of Junior Pauga.
The Sydney Roosters centre has penned a two-year deal with the Black and Whites, ensuring he will be in west Hull until the end of the 2028 season.
The club are known to have been looking to add to their outside back options and they’ve landed a centre who can be expected to take up a starting role within Steve McNamara’s side this season.
Pauga has made 25 appearances in the NRL over his career, with 21 of those coming in the colours of the Roosters, where he has been since 2023 and scored 10 tries. He had a brief spell with Wests Tigers before his switch to Bondi.
The 30-year-old has also picked up a wealth of reserve grade experience, with 125 appearances coming across the Queensland and New South Wales Cups during spells in the second string sides at New Zealand Warriors, Wests and the Roosters, while he has also represented Wynnum-Manly Seagulls and North Sydney Bears.
This season the Samoa international of two caps has played 16 NSW Cup games and scored 13 tries.
He joins Bailey Hodgson, Daly Cherry-Evans, Isaac Liu, Alrix Da Costa, Jordan Swann and Joshua Coric in putting pen to paper with Hull for next season.
“It’s a surreal feeling. I’m glad that I’ve been able to put pen to paper and I’m really excited to come over and be a part of Hull FC,” he told the club.
“My manager spoke to me three weeks ago about the possibility of heading over to England, saying that Steve McNamara was pretty keen to have me over there in Hull, so I was really appreciative of that.
“I’m an aggressive player on both sides of the ball. That power I bring is something I’m excited to bring over to Hull.
“The experience I’ve gained from spending a few years at the Roosters with players like Joey Manu, Joseph Sua’ali’i, Rob Toia and Billy Smith has been great and it’s really helped my confidence as a player.
“I was actually chatting with Daly Cherry-Evans about heading over to Hull next year and we were both talking about how excited we are for the opportunity next year.”
Hull FC chief executive Richie Myler added: “It’s no secret that we have been in the market for a centre and I’m really pleased that we are able to bring Junior Pauga to the club in 2027.
“He’s solid on both sides of the ball and he’s really excited about the opportunity to come over to Hull to work under Steve McNamara, who has been a big admirer of Junior for a while now.
“We’ve been keeping tabs on him for a bit and he’s been hitting some really good form in the New South Wales Cup, so he’s going to arrive with a real spring in his step and he’ll be a great option for us in the backline.”