Ferreira’s determined to prove capital point
YOUNG FC STAR WANTS TO MAKE THE MOST OF HIS CHANCE AT BRONCOS
Jude Ferreira is determined to prove himself in the Championship after making the move to London Broncos for the season on loan. The Hull FC centre linked up with Jermaine Coleman’s Broncos earlier this month and he’ll hope to continue his progression in the capital with muchneeded regular game time.
Despite making the full-time step up from the academy to the first-team squad in 2020, Ferreira, who will be living in Roehampton five days a week during preseason, is still waiting to make his senior debut.
As such, going out on loan was always going to be the plan this season and as the 20-year-old reaches a critical point in his career he’s keen to make the most of his first opportunity to play.
“I need to hone my skills and learn my trade more before I can consistently play at Super League level,” Ferreira told the Mail. “The Championship is perfect for me.
“Brett said ‘show me what you can do.’ He knows I can play but he just hasn’t seen that yet. I just need to go out and show what I can do, show what I’m made of and hopefully go back to FC a 10 times better player. He’s told me he’ll keep an eye out and watch my game and give me anything I need.
“I need to show him I can do it at a big level and I’m capable of playing Super League if and when I’m needed.
“It’s a chance to get my confidence back and know in myself that I can be a really good player when I’ve got the chance.”
Ferreira continued to develop as a player and an athlete last season as he trained with the senior side and worked closely with those experienced outside backs at the club.
However, injuries and passport issues denied him the chance of fulfilling his dream and playing for FC in 2021 and he watched on as fellow academy graduates Marcus Walker, Aidan Burrell and Jacob Hookem got their chances.
“I had quite a few opportunities lined up last season but it just didn’t go to plan,” he added. “I had Catalans away which I was meant to play in but my new passport didn’t come, so that was a massive kick in the teeth. It was frustrating, every opportunity I had was either cancelled or something happened that didn’t allow me to play.”
Should injuries strike at the MKM Stadium, Ferreira could well be called back by Hodgson during the new season.
For now, though, he is focused on London and making a success of his first spell away from East Yorkshire.
“It’s going really well,” he said. “It’s a breath of fresh air in a sense because it’s a totally new environment and a totally new place.
“It seems like a really good set-up, all the lads are fine. It was a struggle adjusting at first but now I’m into it it’s really good, the training is good and everything.
“Coleman is really good, he’s really attentive with all the players, he just knows what you want and he knows how to give you it.”
He added: “I knew I was going out on loan I just didn’t know where and then they came and said that I’d be playing consistently and it was basically a no-brainer. I need to play and I need something more than reserves.”