Chance for Ellis to prove his potential

The talented scrum-half, 21, worked with Long and Bath-bound Kyle Eastmond at St Helens before moving to gain regular football in the Championship.

Hull coach Richard Agar, who has also captured Wests Tigers full-back Wade McKinnon, beat off other suitors to attract Ellis to KC Stadium at the end of the season where the player plans on fulfilling his undoubted potential.

“I feel this is an opportunity to show some people exactly what I can do and prove to a few how good I can be with help from people like Rich and even Longy if he is to be offered a new deal,” said Ellis, who has scored 21 tries already this term for Leigh who entertain Halifax this evening.

Across the city, Willie Mason has revealed he left Hull KR because he did not want to be treated like “a reject” by the club.

He joined Toulon after Rovers cut all ties with their star signing just six months into a lucrative three-year deal when it emerged he had visited the French Top 14 club without their permission.

But Mason cites Rovers’ behaviour as crucial in the relationship deteriorating claiming they failed to keep promises.

They were unable to create a space for him on their overseas quota and the ex-Australian international only arrived in March on a holiday visa.

When efforts to gain a Tongan passport failed, Rovers de-registered injured star Michael Dobson to make way for Mason in the first of many farcical events including being de-registered himself the day before the Hull derby to allow Dobson’s return.

“I was signed as a quota player. Then I was asked by the club to do them a favour and go down the Tongan passport route,” said Mason.

“I never gave any guarantees about how long it would take but they wanted to and here we are today, still without it.

“I didn’t come over to be loaned around (to Bradford) like some reject. Anyone in their right mind would not hang around if they were put in the situation I was.

“It was gut-wrenching being left out for the derby as that was all that people had talked about since I signed.

“Then all of a sudden, I was de-registered and had to watch from the bench. That was probably the beginning of the end for me at the club.”

Wakefield’s new Australian prop Jarrad Hickey debuts at Salford tomorrow night along with ex-Batley scrum-half Gareth Moore.