NO HUGS BUG US

Fonua: Celebrations hard to resist... but we must

- GARETH WALKER

ALL the Premier League angst over late fixture switches and banned goal celebrations has raised a smile among Mahe Fonua and his fellow Super League players.

Fonua, 28, was a member of the Hull FC side that took on Leeds with less than 24 hours notice in October, despite having four squad members unavailable owing to Covid.

And while the Tongan international sympathises with his football peers over the celebration measures, he says adapting to life in a global pandemic is crucial for professional sport.

Fonua said: “There was a sense of responsibility to the competition. We were tipped up, once we resumed after the first lockdown, that there could be games thrown at us in midweek with not much notice.