John Cartwright is insistent his Hull FC side will go out all guns blazing for the rest of the 2026 season, and that any talk of a write off is nonsense.
Hull FC coach John Cartwright with Aidan Sezer after victory over Castleford.(Image: SW PIX)
John Cartwright is insistent his Hull FC side will go out all guns blazing for the rest of the 2026 Super League campaign and has stated it would be ‘ridiculous to waste the year.’
The head coach’s stance comes regardless of the bombshell dropped last week that he will leave the club at the end of the year, with Cartwright adamant his squad will still give it their all for the rest of the season.
The Black and Whites still have 20 Super League rounds and 40 competition points to play for and, as it stands, are just two off the play-offs. Hosting St Helens on Thursday night, they are confident they can win some games over the next month, with fixtures also coming against Castleford Tigers, Toulouse Olympique, and Bradford Bulls, and especially when they lower their injury toll, which currently stands at ten players.
“As a player, you’re judged on your wins and your losses,” Cartwright, speaking to Hull Live, said. “We are three (wins) and four (losses) at the moment. The season is far from gone and we’ve got some games coming up that we certainly believe we can win.
“It will be interesting to see where the ladder is in four weeks’ time. That will give us a real good answer to see how we have responded to what has happened.
“Inwardly now, we’ve just got to make sure we try and win as many games as we can. We don’t want to waste the season – it would be ridiculous to waste the season. We’re sitting two points out of the six, and we’ve got eight or nine of our 17 out who will be back.
“There’s only Prycey (Will Pryce) from our top 17, who is out for the season. At some stage, a little bit of luck is going to shine on us, and we’ll get close to our best team on the paddock, and for me, that just spells opportunity.”
Preparing for the Saints clash, Cartwright was again insistent that this week has been one of ‘knuckle down and crack on.’ As reported by Hull Live last week, the side returned to training on Saturday ahead of Thursday’s game and also trained on Monday as they get their preparation in check.
“That’s what we’ve got to do (crack on),” Cartwright continued. “I’ve seen these situations before and they can go either way. We’ve got to see how we respond on Thursday night.
“Words and emotion get knocked out of you pretty quickly in this game. It’s fast and it’s brutal. We’ve just to make sure that we have that fight that they’ve been able to produce over and over again over the last season and a bit.
“We’re just doing what we’ve got to do to prepare for St Helens. I’m super proud of them. I’ve never been as close to a group of players as this, and seeing the warmth they’ve passed on as players and staff, it’s a lasting thing I will always take with me.
“My dedication to the team won’t change at all. It will probably go up a notch, if anything. My determination comes from what this group has been able to do and from where we’ve come from 12 months ago and the expectation of us – it was nowhere near what we were able to achieve last year.
“I felt like we were on track to do that again. We’ve had some things go against us as far as personnel are concerned, but they’ve fought and they’ve won two of their last three games. We’ve played probably two of the best three sides in the comp in our last three games and they’ve fought tooth and nail to do that.”
Asked if the last week has brought his squad closer together, Cartwright added: “It definitely has. Whether that comes out under the pressure of a game, we just have to wait and see, but I think as a group, it’s definitely pulled us closer together.
“I’ve left the players to their own devices more this week, more so than normally, just for the fact of what’s happened. They need to get things off their chest as well, I suppose, and they’ve had plenty of opportunity to do that, but from Saturday through to the end of the session today (Monday), there’s been nothing mentioned about it.
“This is just footy, and it’s not a pleasant game, sometimes, and tough decisions have got to be made. I understand that. The main thing for me is Hull is about its community, its supporters, and its sponsors, and that will never change. I will cherish those things forever. They have been a big part of my life for the last 15 or 16 months now.
“I’m sure the crowd will get behind our boys again. They always do. Our form at home has been the total opposite to last year; I think we’ve been quite good here, especially the Leeds game and the majority of the Catalans game. We’ve got the crowd into the game and they’ve done their job and got behind us. I don’t think Thursday will be any different.”