Goole Vikings add to Carlos Tuimavave interest as Scott Taylor makes recruitment admission

Hull FC’s Carlos Tuimavave
-Credit: (Image: SW Pix)


Scott Taylor has held discussions with former Hull FC centre Carlos Tuimavave about joining Goole Vikings in 2025. The new head coach of rugby league's latest professional outfit, Taylor has already lured Jamie Shaul out of retirement, with the ex-Airlie Birds full-back, as exclusively reported by Hull Live last month, joining the East Yorkshire club next season.

And Taylor, 33, hasn't ruled out Tuimavave being the second former Black and White to make the move. The ambitious third tier entity are looking to recruit a competitive squad for the start of pre-season training on December 1. They have already signed Tom Halliday from Doncaster, as well as local amateur player Ben Hodder.

However, Tuimavave, who spent nine years at Hull FC, isn't short on suitors, with Hull Live reporting interest from three Championship clubs: Doncaster, York Knights, and Featherstone Rovers, earlier this week. The 32-year-old has also declared his preference to remain in the Super League competition, but that hasn't stopped those in the lower leagues from making moves.

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Goole are one of those clubs, with Taylor, speaking at Tuesday's official launch of the club, declaring his interest in the player. "I've had a few chats with Carlos," he said. "Carlos can speak for himself but we’ve spoken and obviously he’s got a lot of opportunities.

“I don’t think he’s decided himself yet but in the next few weeks he’ll come out and say where he's at. Carlos is an absolutely fantastic player who is coming off contract and loves living where he’s living.

"I really rate him as a player and one day we'd love to have him involved, of course we would, but at the minute Carlos has a few decisions to make. He's a close friend of mine who I've spoken to quite a bit."

Taylor also confirmed that he will have a 'hands on' role in Goole's recruitment, with the Hull-born coach revealing that some signings will come as a 'surprise' in the future.

"I'll be very hands-on," Taylor added on recruitment. "It's a tight budget. We're building a squad and have to do things the right way. The big thing is getting the right players involved, people who buy into this and not just want money, see the big picture, and see what we're building and want to be part of something special. Over the next couple of weeks, more players will get announced and there will be a few names where you might be shocked and some might make a bit of sense."

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