Why Luke Gale is hoping for a ‘ceasefire’ at Hull FC

Both players have a reputation for getting under opponents’ skin and Gale admitted it will be a relief to play on the same side as Connor next season.

The former Leeds Rhinos captain, who won the award in 2017, described Connor as a “potential Man of Steel”.

He said: “I am really excited to be linking up with him, he is a great player and I think my game will help his and he’ll help mine.

“We all know how good a player Jake is, it is just unlocking that week-in and week-out.

“He is an immense talent and I want to get him on the ball and free him up as much as I can.

“I think our style of play will suit each other.

“That’s one positive and the other is whenever I play against him, we just argue for 80 minutes.

“He doesn’t hold back so we kind of go at each other for 80 minutes.

“I’ve said to him ‘now I’ve signed I hope we don’t argue as much as we do when we played against each other’.

“I am hoping it is a bit more civilised now.”

Despite having been linked with clubs including Hull KR and Wakefield Trinity, Gale insisted he only had talked with Hull.

And he revealed the black and whites’ owner, Adam Pearson, had “tried a few times” to sign him, including once when he was on the pitch.

“I was warming up for Cas one day and Adam popped his head over the sideline and asked if I fancied coming to Hull FC, ” he joked.

Gale added: “They weren’t where they wanted to be last season and I want to help. It is a really good squad, with strength in depth and I’ll be doing my best to help us compete for a top four spot.”

Though Gale has signed a one-year contract, it includes an option for 2023 which will be triggered when he reaches a certain number of games.

A series of injuries restricted him to only 11 appearances for Rhinos this year, after he missed the entire 2019 season, when he was at Castleford, because of a torn Achilles.

“I don’t want to be sat on the side of the field, playing 10 games a year,” he stressed.

“I want to be having an impact on the team and playing good football, so that was perfect for me.”

Gale, who said he has fully recovered from the knee injury which ended his 2021 campaign, had 12 months left on his three-year deal with Leeds.

He insisted his move to Hull was not down to Rhinos signing half-backs Aidan Sezer and Blake Austin, or his disagreement with coach Richard Agar which led to him being stripped of the captaincy four months ago.

“I just thought the opportunity would be better moving on,” said Gale, who is hoping to join Hull’s coaching staff when he hangs up his boots.

“The offer came from Hull and it was a move I wanted to pursue. [There are] no hard feelings, I am excited for the new challenge,” he added.

Former Wakefield Trinity hooker Kyle Wood has joined Betfred Championship side Halifax Panthers for the 2022 season.

The 32-year-old is the second player to move from Wakefield to The Shay since the end of last season, following centre Joe Arundel.

Bradford Bulls vice-captain Sam Hallas has joined Championship rivals Newcastle Thunder on a two-year contract and Sheffield Eagles have signed 18-year-old back Ben Sheils from Leeds Rhinos’ academy.