Hull FC know all too well the threat of Jake Connor – with the now Leeds Rhinos star plying his trade in the Black and White for six seasons.
In that time, Connor’s attacking talent was undoubted. The try-assist king, he excelled for the Airlie Birds before moving back to former club Huddersfield Giants when Tony Smith took charge of Hull.
However, it’s at Leeds where he has truly hit his straps again. One of the form players in the Super League competition, the now 30-year-old maverick leads the way in the Man of Steel charts, with the trust and freedom given by coach Brad Arthur bringing the best out of him.
That threat is something John Cartwright is well aware of, with the Hull boss laying out the importance of stopping Connor from ‘having a night out’ at Headingley.
“He’s made a big difference to them with his attacking flair,” Cartwright, speaking in his pre-match press conference, said. “They’ve really worked hard defensively; you can see that, but in a lot of their tries, he’s been around.
“He’s probably their joker – he supplies that X-factor for them in and among that tough, grinding mentality. Players like that – they make a difference – and you’ve got to be on your game. If they have a night out, you basically don’t win the game.”
On Leeds, who currently sit in fourth spot with six wins from their opening ten games, Cartwright continued: “They’re a tough team. It’s going to be a really good atmosphere there – I dare say it will be close to a full house.
“They’re playing really well – even in the games they have lost, they have competed. They’ve also beaten some of the better teams. They pushed KR all the way, and they beat Wigan.
“You look at them on paper, and they’ve got class all over the park, and they’re very physical – that’s why they compete in games. They compete at every play, and they make themselves hard to beat.”
Rejuvenated by Arthur, Leeds have resembled something closer to their old selves this year. A tough and gritty side who could welcome back Cam Smith, Brodie Croft, and Ryan Hall after injuries, Cartwright is expecting a firm challenge in West Yorkshire.
He said: “Brad hasn’t been there all that long, but he is getting the best out of them defensively, and now they’re starting to score some points as well. Their best days look like they’re in front of them.”
“He plays a tough style of footy, which you have to do if you want to be successful at this level. His teams are always really well prepared, and they play tough.”
But while respecting their opposition, Hull know they must look to their own borders, with discipline their key focus leading into the Headingley clash.
That goes from their tackle height but also to how they play, where they kick from, and where they turn the ball over – with composure, patience, and connection all sought.
“We’ve made it pretty clear this week that we need to be squeaky clean,” Cartwright explained. “We’re only going to be talking to each other and getting our game on. We can’t let things that are out of our control control what we do. We’ll be watching that very closely.
“You work so hard to get wins – you see the elations of the players when they get one – so it’s no different this week. We’ve got a reasonable start under our belt, but it’s still very early, and I feel if we can get some competition for places back into the team, that’s when we’ll start to improve.”
He added: “No one goes out there to make mistakes, but whether it’s concentration or preparation, we’ve addressed both, and we’ve trained this week as well as I’ve seen us train. We were very efficient with the ball, and we did everything that we spoke about.
“That’s the frustrating thing about coaching football, I suppose; the pressure of the game when it’s on and being able to perform what you practise becomes paramount, but we had a good week last week and a good week this week. We’re as prepared as we can be.”