“This is a good opportunity to go out and make sure that we give everything that we have.”
John Cartwright has laid the challenge out to his senior Hull FC players. (Image: Dave Lofthosue, Hull FC)
John Cartwright believes Hull FC ‘overachieved’ last year, at least based on the ‘brief’ he was given – and sees no reason why his side can’t do the same again this season.
The Black and Whites finished seventh in 2025, winning 13 of their 27 Super League games and missing out on the competition’s play-offs by three points.
In Cartwright’s view, that was much beyond the pre-season expectations, with the coach, who will leave the club at the end of the season and who aired a fiery press conference on Monday afternoon, confident his side can go on and defy them again this term – continuing with St Helens at the MKM Stadium on Thursday night.
“The brief I had was if we won five games in the first year, it’d be a positive; then, the second year, ten or more; and the third year, we’d be competing for finals,” Cartwright said. “As far as the brief I was given, we’ve overachieved there, but in my mindset, I wanted to compete straight away.
“We were able to bring in some real tough competitors, which helped us do that. I’ve loved my time here and I want to finish on as high a note as I can.
“This year is so early, and there are still 20 games to go. We’ve had a couple of good wins recently, and we’re not in bad form. Our class just wasn’t there against Hull KR but as long as we keep turning up with energy, I’m sure we can go a long way into this season.
“We’ve got a lot to play for. We’ve spoken about a lot of things and this is a good opportunity to go out and look each other in the eye at the end of the game and make sure that we give everything that we have.
“Whoever is out on the field, I couldn’t be happier with the effort of the players that go out there. Sometimes we might be off it in terms of skill and class on the end of things, but the effort to keep themselves in the game, I’ll never falter.
“I’d love to go out winning the Grand Final and I really believe we are capable of it, but that’s words. We need to make sure that, when things get really tough on the field, that the resolve and brotherhood that you build is still there. That sometimes can be the hard thing to do, but time, as I say, will give us that answer.”
Hull will go into the Saints clash with no fewer than 10 players ruled out due to injury. Doing it tough, Cartwright has praised the ability of his squad to dig deep and keep them alive in recent weeks.
“Whenever you mention injuries, people say you’re looking for excuses, but if you’ve been in the game long enough, you understand that if you’re losing players in your top squad, especially key players in key positions, it makes it hard,” he added. “I’ve been really comfortable with where we sit and we’ve got players that are going to be coming back into the squad.
“I think we’ve started to find a bit of steel. I can feel that within the group and it’s really important that we try and maintain that.”