League: Motu Tony finds a home in Hull

Motu Tony with the Kiwis in 2005. Photo / File

Some Kiwi league players come to the Northern Hemisphere for a season or two, others may stay four or five years. Former Warrior Motu Tony came to England more than a decade ago and is still here.

And - in a twist on Victor Kiam and that famous Remington Shaver commercial ("I liked it so much I bought the company") - Tony loved Hull so much he is now running the club.

More or less, anyway. Tony, who spent five seasons at the KC Stadium between 2005 and 2009, returned to the club in 2013 in an administration role and is now the general manager of football at Hull FC "looking after everything on the football side of things".

It's been a steep rise. Tony is only 34, young enough to be playing and not much older than some of the players in the squad. What makes the story a little more unlikely is the perception of Hull.

Stuck on the north-east coast - "look for nowhere on a map and Hull is somewhere near the middle," coined one writer - it has regularly been voted one of, if not the worst, place to live in England.

Not for Tony.

"I love the place," he said. "It reminds me of New Zealand, particularly South Auckland.

The people here are just the same. They love their [league], are honest and hard working people. That's why I have found it so easy to settle."

Tony's affection for the city is also enhanced by his experiences here. He was part of the 2005 Challenge Cup winning team who beat Leeds in one of the best finals of all time and brought the trophy back to Hull for just the third time in 100 years. Tony scored a try and played alongside Richard Swain and Stephen Kearney in that match.

It's always been a natural home for Kiwis, ever since James Leuluai, Gary Kemble and Dane O'Hara arrived in the early 1980s. Next season Frank Pritchard and Sika Manu are among the latest recruits from Down Under.

"A lot of the Kiwis who have come to Hull have an affinity for the place," said Tony. "Richie Barnett recalls the fond memories here. There is a collection of Kiwis [who] have come to Hull and set up shop here."

Tony's focus at the moment is to rebuild the club's culture, a goal that is eerily similar to the Warriors aspirations.

"We are trying to change the culture because our young players, once they have played for Hull, think they have made it," said Tony. "We want them to play for England, play Challenge Cup and Super League finals and also maybe go to the NRL. So let's get Sika Manu who was at Melbourne when they started their cultural change because he knows what it takes to do what we are trying to do."

It's an ongoing battle to get the right talent, at the right balance. The club has had marquee names in the past - think Kearney, Mark O'Meely, Matt Sing and Craig Fitzgibbon - but competing with NRL cheque books, as well as Japanese and European rugby offers, is a constant challenge.

"It's hard but we know what our market is - guys who have done the NRL thing," said Tony. "And there is no better place to work or travel, [or gain] life experiences."

Tony was once an NRL prodigy. As a 21-year-old he was the starting five eight in the 2002 grand final, and a year later part of the Warriors squad that reached the preliminary final. A switch to the Broncos followed, before he joined Hull midway through the 2004 season.

"I've got no regrets," said Tony "Kids these days have five years in a fulltime environment. I had three months pre-season then I was playing for the Warriors. It wasn't until I came to England that I felt mature enough as a player."

Three of his children have been born in England and he completed an MBA at Huddersfield University in 2014. Tony will return to New Zealand one day, but has yet to put a finish date on his work with the (other) black and whites.

"I've got a job here to do," said Tony. "I want to win here and then who knows what the next step is...maybe after the [2017] World Cup."

- By Michael Burgess in Hull

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