Andre Savelio opens up on his hunger for Hull FC success, Brisbane Broncos, his injury and Lee Radford
The forward penned a three-year deal with the club last week
New Hull FC signing Andre Savelio (Image: Hull FC)
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Glancing around his new surroundings, Andre Savelio's eyes light up as they land on a poster of Hull FC players celebrating their 2017 Challenge Cup final success.
"That's the plan," Savelio tells the Mail, nodding to the image on his right, one of many hung throughout the club's County Road training ground. "There's a lot of those players still here."
The motivation for the Black and Whites' latest recruit is clear then. Savelio is here for success and he wants it sooner rather than later.
The 23-year-old arrives at the club from Brisbane Broncos with a healthy reputation, earning a move to the NRL side on the back of his impressive performances with St Helens and Warrington Wolves in the Super League.
Breaking through as an 18-year-old at Langtree Park, Savelio played three games for the Saints on their way to Grand Final success in 2014.
However since then, despite representing three of the most successful clubs in world rugby league since the turn of the century where success is measured in trophies, a ferocious appetite for silverware has been unfulfilled.
Nevertheless, after swapping the golden beaches of Brisbane for the banks of the River Humber, Savelio has the scent of glory in his nostrils.
"We have proven winners at this club," Savelio said.
"They know what it's like to get there, they've done it two years back to back and there's no reason why we shouldn't be aiming for silverware and aiming to go to the next one this time.
"There's strength in depth and that's one thing I've seen here. I don't think I've been at a club in the Super League where the strength in depth in the forwards has been this deep."
However, before Savelio can pull on the black and white jersey, he has to prove that he has fully recovered from the knee injury that ended his career in Australia before it had even started.
Andre Savelio playing for Warrington Wolves in 2017
Leaving Warrington to join up with Wayne Bennett's Brisbane, the forward arrived Down Under as one of the most promising and powerful young players the Northern Hemisphere had to offer, he was even likened to All Black great Sonny Bill Williams, but things didn't quite go as planned.
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After successfully coming through a gruelling pre-season campaign, the New Zealand-born Savelio was cruelly ruled out for the season with an ACL injury.
"Everything is running through your head at that point," Savelio said, after talking a couple of second's pause to reflect on the trauma.
"I went that far and I went there in good condition and I got to the first trial after the NRL pre-season and I came out of that pre-season in the shape of my life and when it happened I was devastated.
"You can't dwell on those things, though, it's part and parcel of rugby. It didn't play out the way I wanted so I can't say it was a dream move. I didn't make it out onto the field for any side.
"I'm better for the experience definitely. There's a lot I learned off the field in regards to training and also just being a better person. I met some good people over there.
"I didn't want to sit over there and not play. I've been given a new lease of life. When it's not going our way and you can go into your shell and dwell on it, but when you get an opportunity it's a fresh leaf and I have that desire for it again."
After a nightmare year in Australia, Savelio made a return to playing action under new Broncos coach Anthony Seibold featuring in a pre-season trial game. So how is the knee now?
"It feels alright," he added. "I've got a couple of things I need to tick off with the strength and conditioning staff. The strength is there, it's more just running patterns that the head of performance wants to get sorted first. Once that's down and done then we'll be ready to go.
"I won't lie it wasn't 100 per cent but I spoke to a lot of people who I've played with who have done these, Jonny Lomax, Ben Currie and there was a couple at Broncos.
"They said that it doesn't come straight away it comes in game time. I'm confident on it now and after speaking to certain people, I'm a lot more confident."
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The move to Hull came around quickly. Just a day after going to Seibold and talking about his future, Savelio was answering a call from Lee Radford, who by the head coach's own admissions, had been itching for the chance to add the former Saints man to his squad for some time.
Two weeks later, the back-rower was touching down on English soil and travelling to Hull for his first day of training after penning a three-year deal with FC and while the Challenge Cup was glistening in the back of Savelio's mind, the chance to work with Radford sealed the deal.
"I was pretty comfortable," he said. "I was keen to come and I got that impression from day one with the squad, there's a willingness to play for Radford that you don't always get at clubs.
"Sometimes you have a coach and you go out and do the job as players and he's the coach, but with Radders it's more that he's one of the lads. That's not a bad thing.
"It helps that he's played for Hull. That always helps. He's not that old, I remember growing up and watching him, the toughness he played with and he's one of those that I actually remember watching him. I liked the passion he played with and it was always team first."
Andre Savelio celebrates a try while playing for St Helens
Savelio may have been born in New Zealand, but he calls Warrington home after moving there as a one-year-old after his father Lokeni Savelio joined Salford in 1997.
As such, he has spent most of his life around the Super League, either as a fan and later as a player, and it's a league he feels more than comfortable playing as he bids to get his promising career back on track.
"I'm not going to say I've been here and cracked it. I left 21 and I played 80-odd games and a lot of them were as a middle and some on the edge so as a forward I was pleased with where I was at.
"Have I been up to full potential? Probably not, I've still got a bit to go and I feel I have a lot more to prove."
As such, as the forward begins to approach his peak years in the game, FC fans will have high hopes that he can realise that potential in Black and White.
For now, though, Savelio is just focused on getting back out on the field after such a lay-off.
"I'm itching to play now for sure," he added. "I've not played a competitive game since September 2017."
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