The race for the Super League play-offs may be heating up with just one third of the season to go, but for Hull FC head coach John Cartwright, it’s very much business as usual.
Cool, calm, and collected, there’s no pressure on Cartwright, who with 18 competition points still up for grabs, is very relaxed about Hull’s current situation. The Black and Whites maintain sixth spot going into round 19, but they know it’s not this week that will define them, but what they do consistently and effectively over the next two months.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash at Wigan Warriors, Cartwright told Hull Live: “We’ve still got nine games to go – there’s 18 points up for grabs, and that’s a lot of points in the grand scheme of things.
“The bottom side could win nine in a row, and you don’t know where you will end up. It’s still too early to start saying if we beat them or if they beat us. I don’t get caught up in that; it’s a waste of energy.
“We’ve got a tough game against quality opposition this week. We’ll go out there and give it our best, and we’ll work on Huddersfield the next week.”
The Hull boss, signed on a three-year deal ahead of 2025, is very much in the here and now, and it’s that outlook that has seen him excel in his first year at the club – enjoying every moment, good and bad, and on and off the field.
“I’ve loved everything about it,” Cartwright continued. “I’ve really enjoyed head coaching again. I’ve really enjoyed the staff we’ve worked with, and all the players have bought into what we are trying to build.
“Our fans are second to none – they are probably the best I’ve ever come across. We’ve had our ups and downs, but that goes in every football season. On the whole, footy is a rollercoaster, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Always looking for improvements, Hull, whose effort and commitment have been unquestioned this year, knows it’s controlling what they can control that remains key to reaching their goals and ambitions.
For the side, that’s maintaining last week’s second-half display against Wakefield, ensuring they hold on to the ball and turn it over on their own terms – and in doing so, getting into their desired grooves and rhythms.
“We’ve just been patchy for the last six weeks,” Cartwright explained. “There are a few reasons for that, but we’re not looking for excuses. The best thing is that they are competing every week, and we’ve been in every game that we’ve played over the last 10-12 weeks.
“They haven’t all gone our way, but the effort and the attitude of the players I can never question. The effort to stay in the games has been there, and there haven’t been many games we haven’t been in right up until the last five minutes.”
Cartwright added: “It’s just getting our game right. It doesn’t change much week to week. We’re trying to keep the game as simple as we possibly can. Our second half against Wakefield last week was where we would like to be consistently.
“We held on to some ball and gave ourselves an opportunity to apply some pressure at the right end of the field, and we came up with some nice efforts to score tries. If we can repeat that second-half performance (we give ourselves a chance), and it’s strictly about hanging on to the ball. The effort has always been there – we just need to get those errors out of our game.”