Fetuli Talanoa in line for Hull FC recall '“ but Gareth Ellis sits out opener

Talanoa, 28, did not feature in the pre-season games versus Doncaster or Hull Kingston Rovers as he continued to recover from knee surgery but the Tongan will start at the KC Stadium.

Former England second-row Ellis, though, is not yet deemed ready as he continues his rehabilitation from a snapped Achilles.

“It’s great to have Fetuli back,” admitted Radford, about a player who scored nine tries last term.

“You just have to ask the opposition coaches about him and they’ll tell you how important he is for us.

“The elite teams always focus on stopping him because of how dangerous he can be.

“Gareth’s been in full training for two weeks but we are trusting our staff to bring him back at the right time.”

All six of Hull’s new signings, including Frank Pritchard and Scott Taylor, are named in the 19-man squad.

Huddersfield Giants, meanwhile, are without a trio of key players for their opener at St Helens tomorrow night.

They are already missing former Castleford prop Craig Huby due to a broken hand, but head coach Paul Anderson has also lost two hookers from his plans.

Kyle Wood was fit again after fracturing a foot last July but now has a quad problem that could sideline him for another month while Luke Robinson is troubled by a minor back issue.

NRL recruits Ryan Hinchcliffe – who will play at nine – and Sam Rapira are included in Huddersfield’s 19-man squad, however, along with Larne Patrick who returns after his season-loan at Wigan Warriors.

France half-back Theo Fages is set to make his debut for Saints with Australian former Hull KR No 6 Travis Burns left out of the squad.