John Cartwright watched New South Wales’ State of Origin defeat to Queensland on Wednesday and couldn’t help but notice signs to his Hull FC side—and for all the wrong reasons. The Blues had an error-strewn first half to rue in Origin Two, with a late and spirited comeback not enough to deny the Maroons victory to set up a series decider in Sydney next month.
And for Cartwright, who was on the state coaching staff last year before moving to England, it was those errors, the penalties given away, and the six agains that were akin to Hull’s defeat to Castleford that cost his state—with a reminder given to what his Black and Whites side must continue to believe in and the importance of it.
That remit is now in full focus for Sunday’s game at Salford Red Devils, with Hull focused on discipline, completing sets, and turning the ball over in the right areas of the field. It’s a remit Cartwright is happy to keep drilling home, as he knows that with the continuation of its application, performances, and more satisfyingly, results, will keep on coming.
Speaking to Hull Live pre-match, the Hull coach said: “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance last week. It was the same in Origin—it was a game of two halves. New South Wales just made way too many errors, and they gave away too many penalties, and they were down by 20 points—it was very similar for us last weekend: too many errors, too many penalties, and too many six agains—it makes it too hard to win the game.
“For us, it’s just competing. It’s winning the little battles that everyone faces as individuals—doing the little things well and ticking the things that we talk about all of the time.”
And for Cartwright, the confidence is there in his side—given a stern warning, with attitude and application key—to right the wrongs, just as it is for his state next month.
“I was worried, as whenever that many people tip New South Wales, and they start as big favourites, Queensland always finds a way to spoil the party,” he explained. “I’m sure next time will be the same; it will be in Sydney, and NSW will be the favourite, and Queensland will be written off, and as a Blue, that’s what scares you the most.”
He continued: “In any game, if you’re not totally committed at this level, then you’re going to get beat. We’re not going well enough not to be totally committed, and that’s been the message from us coaches all year. Prepare well and give yourself the best chance, and the result will take care of itself.
“There’s no excuse for last week—whether it was preparation or thinking we’re doing a little bit better than what we are, whatever it was—we need to be at our best every week with preparation, getting into the game, head space, and all of that. I’m not concerned about who we’re playing. We’ve got to get our performance up.”
Hull know if they get their performance up, they’ll be well-poised in Super League to make a fist of the remaining rounds. They currently sit sixth after a satisfactory year but know the challenge now is to kick on and not let it go to waste.
“A lot can happen,” Cartwright said. “We’ve got a fair few important players not on the field at the moment, and that can really hurt you and affect how you play and the results at the end of the day. We’re fortunate that they’re all going to be back between now and hopefully the next four or five weeks.
“When we are at full strength, I think we can do some special things. At the moment, they’re fighting hard, we’re working hard for our wins, and we had a couple of really good wins, but key players are hard to replace. It’s tough, but on the bright side we’re not far away, and I feel if we can just keep sneaking along, I’m very confident at full strength that we can cause some damage.”