KR chairman demands respect

Hull KR chairman Neil Hudgell has called on his star forward Mickey Paea to ‘come clean’ amid claims he is to join rivals Hull FC.

Paea, 27, publicly stated that he is looking for a deal in Australia as a priority but Hudgell says different.

He said, “Mickey has told the club that he has signed, in his own words, ‘a deal too good to turn down’ at Hull FC two weeks ago.”

Whilst keen to stress he has no axe to grind against Paea for signing a deal on better terms, Hudgell says he is angry that the player appears to be hiding behind supposed interest from Australia.

Paea has insisted that should a deal become available in the NRL, that is still where he will head, but Hudgell is certain that will not be the case, and called on FC to announce the deal too.