FA'AMANU BROWN has fought through the kind of adversity that makes the prospect of a long-awaited Super League debut amid the red-hot atmosphere of a Hull derby tonight the easy bit.

One of nine siblings, Brown endured childhood poverty in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he shared a bedroom in a state housing complex with four brothers.

Packed off alone to chase his rugby league dream in Australia at the age of 17, Brown struggled with mental health and homesickness, then in 2019 sustained a foot injury and was told by surgeons he would never run again.