Jed Cartwright’s return to the Hull FC line-up was a long time coming: 15 weeks and 105 days, to be precise, but now that he’s back, he’s determined to kick on.
Suffering a troublesome hamstring injury while chasing an opposition player at Wakefield back in March, Cartwright has fought through rehab to return, even copping a setback before a pencilled-in comeback at Catalans at the end of May. It wasn’t to be.
But the back rower, a towering and welcome presence on Hull’s right edge, kept persevering, and eventually, he got his reward, returning against St Helens earlier this month. Touch wood, it stays that way, with Cartwright now preparing for his third game back at Wigan, full of relief but motivated to make his mark on the team.
“It feels so good to be back,” Cartwright, speaking to the media, including Hull Live, said. “It felt like forever, but I’m really enjoying being back and being around the boys. It really lifts your spirits.
“It’s been so frustrating being out. As a player, all you want to do is play, and when you can’t, and you’re in the rehab environment in the gym and on your own working hard to get back while all the boys are out on the field, it can be really deflating.
“It’s a really lonely place, but all the boys were really helpful, and Dad. I speak to my dad all the time, and we catch up when we’re not in training. I spend a lot of time with him outside of football.
“I’m really settled here, and life is really good. I’ve got a good support system off the field; I wouldn’t be able to tell them how much that has meant to me, taking me in and really supporting me through some tough times and also the highs. They know who they are, and I can’t thank them enough.
“I get motivation from myself as well. The highs and the lows spur you on to get out there, but I feel like you have to find motivation within yourself to get back, and it’s always a little bit easier if you can dive deep and find that.”
Opening up on his journey, which saw the player almost return at Catalans before suffering a setback at training, Cartwright continued: “I was super excited to get back, and then I had a little setback again, and I had to work my way back to put myself in a position to go out and play again.
“When I had a chance to step out on that field feeling 110% confident that my body would hold up, that was a huge thing—it just allowed me to go out and do what I love to do. I love rugby league, I love playing, and I love training and being around the boys, and when you can be confident in your body, it makes that role a lot easier.”
But now he’s back; it’s the simple stuff that counts, with Cartwright cautious to not get overstimulated and go away from what he knows works for him, instead basing his game on defence, getting his contacts right, and adding aggression and that element of mongrel to Hull’s pack.
“It is really hard to juggle,” the back rower explained. “You want to come out and make up for everything and the time that you have missed, but sometimes you can be guilty of going out there and trying too hard.
“I’m just finding ways to reel myself back in in a game and just go out there and do my job, which is very hard when you’re out there, but all the boys have been really good in the games; they’re in my ear and telling me to do just my job.
“This is my third game back now. I’ll just try to go out there and do my role for the team. There are so many good players around me that can put me in good positions to do some of the stuff I can do. I’m really excited to get out there and build my minutes up every week and eventually stay out there for the full game.
“I’ve been really happy so far. I’ve always been a big believer that defence wins games. Coming off the back of such a long layoff, it can be hard offensively to find your timing and things like that. As much as you can train on the field, you can’t replicate a game, so a big focus for me was my defence and being good, and it’s going to be the same moving forward for the rest of my career.”
Contracted for another season, Cartwright’s goals now are simple: play rugby league and get better alongside an improved Hull outfit. The Black and Whites have surprised many this year, and with one-third of the season to go and after victory over Wakefield last Thursday, they are right in the mix for a play-off finish. Next up: Wigan on Saturday.
“Last week was massive,” Cartwright explained. “Not only to get our first home win of the season, but we’ve had a really good year, and to get that first win and repay the fans that have been there every week supporting us through it all, it was really important for them, us, and the club.
“We have to focus again now on what we need to do to win. Wigan will make it a real contest, and we’ll go into the game expecting them to come out firing.
“Wigan are Wigan; whoever they put out there will go out and do a job, but we have done really well on the road this year. We have had a lot of games, and we’ve rocked up to every one of them with a good attitude, and we’re expecting the same again this week.
“It’s a real big game for us; we’re getting towards the pointy end of the season, and we need to start putting back-to-back victories together. We’ll be going there this week with that aim.
“We’re in the six now, and we want to stay there, but we have to focus week to week and turn up to games with aggression and attitude and intent to attack the games and win. We really want to finish in that top six, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”