Zak Hardaker has started all of Hull FC’s last nine games in the back row and was grateful for the seven-minute rest given by head coach John Cartwright during the end of Sunday’s 38-6 victory over Salford Red Devils.
And while some would have feared the worst when the veteran left the field, by the players’ own admission, it was nothing more than a precaution.
“I just tweaked my ankle a little bit but it was alright – I needed a little rest,” Hardaker told Hull Live post-match. “The scoreline being what it was, I think John just saved my old legs. It’s all good.”
As for the back row, Hardaker continues to shine. He was signed to play centre this year, a position he has played just four times for the club, with Jordan Lane’s injury back in April bringing a rethink. But it’s the veteran, the ultimate competitor, who has risen to the challenge – one he was told he may end up in towards the back end of his career.
“It’s a bit different, but the workload, which is quite a lot, I’m enjoying it,” Hardaker explained. “It gets me in the game a lot, but with each game I play there, I’m getting used to it.
“I’ve always been a skinny kid growing up, and I always thought I’d be a wing or full-back, but then I went into the centre and thought I might stay there, but there have been a few coaches who said I might end up in the back row.
“Position-wise it’s five yards inside, but it’s just a totally different game – the lines you run, tackle technique, it’s all different. The first couple of weeks were all about the thrill of it; I was enjoying it, and then two games after that, it was trying to get down to the nitty-gritty side of it and the knowledge, and now I’m just in the thick of it. We’ve got no back rowers, so I’m happy to put my hand up and play there.”
But Hardaker doesn’t have a bad mentor to learn off in Cartwright, who was a Premiership winner as a back rower with Penrith Panthers back in 1991. He was also a former Australian Kangaroo international and toured the UK as a player.
The 33-year-old explained: “John himself, his son Jed when he’s fighting fit, they’re good back rowers, but he lets me express myself and lets me do my own thing. There are things that I can and can’t do, but apart from that, he lets me crack on with it.”
As well as the back row role, there’s one other area Cartwright is instructing, but this one is collective: don’t get complacent. Hull may have won at Salford, and they may sit sixth in Super League, but they know they have to go again against Warrington Wolves this Saturday evening.
“We haven’t earned the right to be favourites from the back end of last year,” Hardaker added. “We’ve got to earn that this year. Some games we’ve been tremendous in, and some games we’ve been below par. It’s that top and bottom bit where we need to level off and meet in the middle sometimes.
“We can’t get complacent. We have to turn up every week with the right mindset, no matter who is in front of us. We have to turn up to perform; otherwise we will get beat. That’s the lesson we’ve been taught, and we’ll take that forward.”