Jamie Shaul believes that Hull FC’s final two regular season matches of the season will be a good opportunity for him to impress in the fullback role.
The Black & Whites will end the Super League regular season with Saturday’s home tie with Wigan Warriors before they travel to the Mobile Rocket Stadium to face Wakefield Trinity next Friday night.
With Josh Reynolds’ season over due to a knee injury, the likelihood is that Jake Connor will fill the gap at stand-off, as he did at Magic Weekend, meaning the door is ajar for Shaul to demonstrate what he is capable of in the fullback role.
“It’s another two games that I can get under my belt before we head into the off-season and obviously before we begin pre-season training over the winter,” Shaul said.
“Hopefully I manage to come through the final two games of the season unscathed. I’m just hoping to get that matchday feel back again, getting used to the intensity of the matches. That will help me hit the ground running in pre-season, I feel.
“It’s my chance [to impress at fullback] isn’t it? Jake’s been killing it at the back, but I finally get a chance to show what I can do at fullback. Like I said, the Wigan game will only be my second full game back, but hopefully I can build my way into the game and do my bit for the team.”
Now that Shaul is back to fitness, he is reaping the rewards of working with Head Coach Brett Hodgson, who, of course, was a fullback during his own playing career.
An NRL Grand Finalist, a State of Origin pivot – Hodgson knows a thing or two about the fullback role, so Shaul is looking to take advantage of what he can learn from him.
“I was a bit gutted at the start with me being injured. I felt like I was missing a lot of one-on-one time with him,” Shaul explained.
“He’s someone I’ve worked with in the past and his knowledge on rugby league is second to none. You can’t not listen to him.
“I missed out on quite a lot but these last two weeks and being back in full training and preparing for games has been great.”
You can read the full, extended interview with Jamie Shaul in Saturday’s edition of The 18th Man, our official matchday programme.
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