Franklin Pele, a former NRL front-rower, has followed in the footsteps of Jayden Okunbor by becoming the second former Canterbury Bulldogs player to sign a short-term loan with a new team.
After departing from the Bulldogs at the conclusion of the previous campaign, Pele and Okunbor joined Hull FC.
But now that he’s agreed to terms, he can play his first game for York Knights on Sunday. He’ll be joining the team on a two-week loan in the RFL Championship, which is the English Super League’s second tier.
Pele, who is only 22 years old, shocked everyone last year by deciding to leave the NRL after three seasons and seven NRL games with the Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks.
Although he was expected to be an impact player off the interchange bench, he never lived up to the hype and played for the club’s feeder teams in the NSW Cup for the majority of his career.
Head coach of the York Knights Andrew Henderson stated, “We’re very thankful to be able to acquire Franklin’s services. He is the type of middle-unit player that we’ve been looking for and he is someone that will be able to give us a point of difference.”
“I’m really excited to see him because he will give us some punch and some real go-forward through the middle.”
After three seasons and seven NRL games for the Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks, Pele, who is only 22 years old, made the unexpected decision to leave the NRL last year.
Claimed as a valuable member of the interchange bench, he regrettably failed to meet expectations and played for the club’s feeder teams in the NSW Cup for the majority of his career.
“We’re grateful to have acquired Franklin’s services as he is the kind of middle-unit player we’ve been searching for and he will be able to provide us with a point of difference,” York Knights head coach Andrew Henderson stated.
He’ll give us a real kick and a real forward motion through the middle, so I’m excited to see
