John Cartwright believes Hull FC’s elusive home win this season is ‘close’, with his side throwing everything into ensuring they are physically and mentally prepared for Thursday’s clash with Wakefield Trinity
The head coach, aware of the importance of the contest, has focused on preparation at training, with Hull undergoing a short turnaround, well aware of their fix-ups going into what is another big Super League clash.
But they also know that if they add some polish to their effort and hard work beliefs, completing sets and playing on their terms, then they will have a genuine chance of winning games, with the final third and business end of the season drawing near.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Cartwright said: “Everything is being thrown into getting that elusive home win. I feel it’s close.
“There is certainly no lack of effort in the players, and we’re not playing any different from what we were. Sometimes we think too much about it. We’ve mentioned some error counts where we haven’t been where we want to be, but the main focus for us this week has been getting physically and mentally ready for the challenge to come Thursday night.
“We’ve just got to be consistent with our approach and what we believe in and what we base our training on, our pre-season on. We’ve got to stay true to those beliefs, and they are all centred around hard work and doing our extras and preparing the best we can. Those are the messages we’ll get across between now and the end of the year.”
Get those messages sinking in, and Cartwright believes the confidence and capability are there to achieve their goals and finish inside the play-off spots.
“We’ve got to keep turning up with that same determination to defend our try line,” he explained. “Again, I’m talking like a broken record, but we’ve got to make sure we get to the end of our sets as often as we can and give them the ball down their own end.
“It’s only been the last three or four games where we’ve been really poor in that area, but we’ve focused on the positives this week, and we’ve been honest. There is no ducking and diving. We’ve been honest with our appraisals, and we’re attacking the challenge.
“Earlier in the year, we weren’t having these problems. A lot of people around you can all be doom and gloom when you’re not getting the results, but for us as a group, players, and coaches, in our minds, we’ve got to look forward to it—we’ve got to look to attack these situations.
“Our preparation in general has been very good. There have not been many games where we haven’t had a chance of winning come the 80th-minute mark. Keep doing that often enough, and we will get confidence and hopefully turn that into more wins.”
Aware of the challenges of Wakefield, Cartwright added: “They are a really good side. They throw the ball around, and they really test you defensively. They’ve got plenty of resolve, and they’ve beaten some really good sides, and like us, they’re in the game until the final whistle. Oppositions like that are always dangerous sides.
“We just need to put the ball where we’d like to put it, which hasn’t been our strength, especially the last three weeks. But nothing will change – we’ve just got to be better at what we do and limit their classy players as best as we can.”