Last backs Fonua to hit better form

ANDY Last is confident Mahe Fonua will eventually come good this season despite his poor form of late.

The outside back has been a regular since moving back to Hull FC after a couple of seasons with Wests Tigers, making 14 appearances and playing in every game since the campaign restarted in August.

However, while he has scored five tries, he hasn’t been able to replicate the type of form that saw him cement his place as a legend during his first stint at the club.

As such, Last has felt the need to have a couple of honest talks with the 27-year-old in order to lay out what’s expected of him.

But, the interim head coach is more than aware of how influential Fonua can be when he’s at his devastating best and he is confident the Tonga international can return to top form.

“I’ve had a couple of honest conversations with Mahe,” Last told the Mail. “He’s fully aware his form isn’t where it needs to be and he’s trying hard but sometimes in a game the harder you try the worse it can get.

“He’s doing the right things in the training environment and he’s saying the right things when it comes to his individual video, he’s just having a bad period at the moment from a form point of view.

“The quality is there and if he keeps working hard he’ll come out of the other side of it and he’ll be able to look back at this period and realise that if you keep working hard and doing the right things you can turn your form around.

“He’s a big player for us and we need big performances from him. “He’s struggled for his form but that form is only temporary, that class is still there and we’re fully aware of what he’s capable of.”