No detective is needed to work out Hull FC’s key fix-up against St Helens this Saturday afternoon. The Black and Whites made far too many errors in defeat at Warrington Wolves last week, with their mistakes creating an unwanted chain effect they couldn’t untangle themselves from.
For head coach John Cartwright, it wasn’t just the errors that hurt Hull, but what came after too. Making yardage errors, Hull were constantly pinned in their own half, and while their defence was admirable, at one stage repelling over 25 tackles on their own goal line, ultimately it sucked too much energy out of them with Hull cornered and unable to change the momentum.
Avoiding the same vicious cycle is now Hull’s challenge, with their focus clear and simple ahead of what is another big game on their home ground. Speaking ahead of the clash, Cartwright outlined that test. He said: “We can judge how we played (at Warrington), but at the end of the day, we made something like 11 errors in our 20-metre zone.
“While it doesn’t look pretty on the back of that, defensively you’re out of line and you’re under fatigue, and with the ball, you’re carting it out of your own end on the back of fatigue. We know if we fix up that area of our game, it will change the whole complex of how we look.
“No one goes out there to make errors, simple errors, and there were a couple of players guilty of multiple errors. You would think that players at this level won’t back that performance up—it’s just being aware of it.
“It’s your responsibility once you catch the ball, if you get tackled, to hold onto the ball, get up, and play the ball. It’s pretty much that simple. We just need to stop turning the ball over and being pinned to our own try line.”
However, focusing on one good trait from his Hull side this year, Cartwright continued: “I want to reiterate that I’m really pleased with how they don’t stop trying. There were 27 tackles in a row that we defended on our try line; we got the ball, and Lew Martin then got taken over the line by a millimetre for a try that would have gotten us back in the game again.
“That’s us—in every game, they never stop trying, and they never give up. But I know we can get better if we look after our possessions. When you get ahead on the scoreboard and give up, that’s when you’ve got problems, but I haven’t seen any sign of that.
“Our experience has stood up, and that’s how the younger guys learn; it’s just an evolution at every level at every club, I would imagine, and this week will be no different—we’re up against a very experienced side, and we’ve got to have a response to how we played last week. We know where we want to be to make a statement.”
As for St Helens, Cartwright is expecting a tough clash, with the Saints locked on 10 Super League wins after their third triumph of the year over Salford Red Devils last week.
“You spend all your time looking at your own team, but I know St Helens are a champion club and have been for a very long time,” Cartwright explained. “They are stacked full of internationals, and they have got great overseas imports.
“You know, at some point, as we get close to finals, they’re going to be at their best. It’s a good challenge for us playing against a side that could potentially compete for a top-four spot.
And on head coach Paul Wellens, Cartwright added on his opposite man: “Every coach is under pressure for different reasons at some point in time. If you’re not equipped to handle pressure, you’re in the wrong job, but he seems like a very calm fella, and he was very calm when he played; he was very relaxed, and that’s the way that he is handling the situation.
“He’s handled it the best possible way—he’s defended his players, he’s defended his decisions, and he’s backed his judgement that he will get his side into form, and they’re doing it for him.
“We just have to stick to what we believe in at the start of the game and be consistent for eighty minutes. We know what’s in front of us, but going out, combating it, and stopping it—that’s the challenge.”