Hull FC will welcome back Brad Fash to the team this week, with the forward overcoming a calf injury that has kept him out for the last five games.
Suffering the injury in training ahead of the cup tie against Hull KR last month, Fash is now ready to go again, with John Cartwright excited to get another member of his pack back and create some competition for places.
Offering some insight into his team selections, which will be confirmed at Thursday’s team run, it seems Hull’s centres will stay the same for Friday’s trip to Leeds Rhinos, with Davy Litten and Jordan Rapana getting the nod.
That will see Zak Hardaker remain in the back row, with Fash, alongside Ed Chamberlain and Jack Ashworth competing for the other starting spot, not to mention key interchange options.
Elsewhere, Yusuf Aydin and Sam Eseh are available, with Liam Knight avoiding further action from the MRP after his red card at Magic Weekend and likely to start alongside Herman Ese’ese in the front row.
Speaking on Fash’s return, Cartwright said in his pre-match press conference: “Brad can play either in the back row or the middle, but Jack Ashworth has been doing that role, and he’s made not a bad fist of it when he’s gone to the edge. We’ve got to weigh up our best 17, and we’ll name that to the boys on Thursday, but Brad adds depth to our squad.
“I’m pretty happy with the centres – Davy Litten and Jordan Rapana – we’ve spoken about Davy, and when Jordan is fit, he’s someone that is just in the team. We need players back just to create competition for places; when you get that, that’s when your level of performance goes up.”
As for Litten, Cartwright piled the praise on his in-form centre, who has come back into the side strong after six months out with an MCL injury. The layoff saw the now 22-year-old go under the knife, but his attitude never differed throughout the process.
“It’s a really good story,” Cartwright said on Litten. “His attitude has never wavered right through – he had the operation late and was out in rehab for a good four to five months. An opportunity then came along, and he grabbed it.
“He’s a competitor, he’s full of energy, and he’s the sort of bloke that you like playing with. He hasn’t taken a backwards step one little bit – every single week, no matter what happens, he deals with the areas where he can get better, and he brings what he brings – it’s infectious for us.”