Radford’s praise for FC stand-out Tuimavave
LEE Radford has piled praise on Hull FC centre Carlos Tuimavave, describing him as the club’s most consistent player of the season so far.
Tuimavave crossed for his second try of the season on Sunday, pulling the Black and Whites level in the 28-24 victory at London Broncos as he continued his fine start to the campaign.
The 27-year-old has regularly been one of the Black and Whites’ standouts with the ball since making the switch to the right edge to play alongside new signing Ratu Naulago, and the pair have started to build a formidable partnership in a vibrant and thriving backline, with key players back fit.
After witnessing Tuimavave hit the ground running this season, Radford is keen to give his centre a pat on the back by singling him out for praise.
“After the first few games, in my opinion, he’s been right up there with our most consistent performers,” Radford told the Mail.
“If you’re asking me who’s the player of the season so far, he definitely wouldn’t be far off.
“The level of his performances have not only been high but also they’ve been consistently high, which is a good thing.
“It’s credit to how he trains, he turns up to get better every day and it’s no coincidence his performances are thoroughly reflecting that.
“He makes his one on ones. He’s really efficient with his one on one tackles that he has to make but I think his percentages of when to come and when not to come are very high.
“Ratu on his outside has been good as well so it helps when your edge defenders are coming up with the right decisions.
“The more they play together they get better and with the consistency in availability is a big advantage for any edge when you’re turning out week in, week out.”
The centre claimed two weeks ago that he feels he is still someway short of his best form for the club this season, having starred during his first two campaigns for the club in 2016 and 2017 after joining from Newcastle Knights.
Nevertheless, while Radford believes he still has more to give for FC, he insists Tuimavave is getting better year on year.
“He was outstanding for us in 2016 and 2017,” the Hull coach added.
“In ’16 he played a little bit of half when he didn’t want to but I think how he has started this season has been a real plus for us definitely.
“He’s got better every season, apart from a stint at the back end of last season.
“Every season he has been here he is progressing nicely.”