A turbulent week, but Hull FC now need to move on.
Tom Briscoe has called for Hull FC’s players to accept recent events and kick on with their 2026 season.(Image: SW PIX)
Tom Briscoe has called on his Hull FC teammates to accept recent club decisions and move on with their season.
The Black and Whites are next in action against Castleford Tigers on Friday night, with interim coach Andy Last taking charge of proceedings after it was confirmed on Friday that John Cartwright had stepped down from his day-to-day duties and effectively been placed on gardening leave. And with 19 rounds still to go, or two-thirds of the season, the veteran back wants to see the side crack on with some favourable fixtures coming up.
Of course, nothing is a given in Super League, but with three games against three teams coming up either on par or below them in the table (Toulouse and Bradford following the Castleford fixture), it’s a chance now for Hull, hoping to welcome back some of their injured players in the near future, to get some wins on the board and gather some momentum.
But to do that, there can be no dwelling on what has gone on and instead complete and utter focus on the task ahead – something Briscoe is fully behind.
“As players, we’ve just got to get on with our jobs,” Briscoe told Hull Live. “That’s playing each week and buying into whoever is in charge at that moment in time.
“We need a bit of stability now. We’ve had a horrible run of injuries. We’ve been struggling to put the same side out week in, week out. I think that would be a big help if we could get a team that can consistently get a run of games together.
“If you look at the other teams who are at the top, the majority have been teams that have had low injury counts. For us to have so many injuries, it’s been tough and it’s been challenging, but just sticking to our process and taking confidence from where we’ve been over the last few weeks, and just trying to keep improving and working hard, we will get there.”
And while Briscoe, for one, accepts what has gone on, there is also a personal gratitude to Cartwright after his time in charge.
“He’s been good,” the veteran back continued. “I thought last year he came in and did a really good job. He got the team playing well and challenging and competing each week.
“We had a good environment. That’s not changed this year. This year we’ve had a lot of injuries to key members of our team and a few performances that haven’t been up to our standards, but John has been great, especially for me, as I’ve been in and out of the team and not playing at the start of the year.
“All I asked of him was to tell me straight and he has done that. I’ve got no bad words to say. He’s been good for us as a team I feel, but it’s a decision that’s outside of our hands, and we’ve just got to accept that.”