One-time Super League Grand Final winner, former Wigan Warriors & NRL powerhouse departs Hull FC
Iafeta 'Feka' Paleaaesina in action for Wigan Warriors - Alamy
Hull FC’s Player Welfare Manager Iafeta ‘Feka’ Paleaaesina – who won a Grand Final with Wigan Warriors in his playing days – has departed the club to take up a role outside of rugby league.
Paleaaesina arrived in Super League with Wigan ahead of the 2006 campaign, joining after making 83 appearances in the NRL for the New Zealand Warriors.
The four-time Kiwi international would feature 145 times for the Warriors, with his final appearance coming at Old Trafford against bitter rivals St Helens as Wigan were crowned Super League champions.
95 further appearances followed between top flight outfits Salford Red Devils – then known as Salford City Reds – and Hull, sandwiching a brief stint in the French Elite Championship at Limoux Grizzlies.
After 30 appearances for Doncaster between 2016 and 2017, the prop called time on his career and took on the role of Player Welfare Manager at the MKM Stadium, a position he now relinquishes after seven years.
One-time Super League Grand Final winner, former Wigan Warriors & NRL powerhouse Iafeta ‘Feka’ Paleaaesina departs Hull FC
Hull confirmed Paleaaesina’s departure via their club website this afternoon. The 40-year-old will still be around the club in a non-working capacity, with son Caleb currently in the Black & Whites’ scholarship programme.
FC wrote: “Having been involved in the sport from a young age, including a decade of service to the Black & Whites, Paleaaesina will make a career change in the new year.
“He made 49 appearances for the club, before taking on the role of Player Welfare Manager, becoming a much-loved member of the club’s off-field staff over the last seven years.
“Paleaaesina has decided the time is right for a new career challenge and to allow him more time to focus on his family.
“He was presented with framed signed jersey on Thursday evening as off-field and performance staff came together to say farewell to Feka at a club event ahead of the Christmas break.
“Everyone at Hull FC would like to thank Feka for his decade of service to the club, and we send our best wishes for the future to him and his family, who will all be special guests of the club at the Super League opener against Hull KR in February.”