Hull FC are in a healthy position, and confidence is brewing. But most importantly, there are no signs of complacency, with the Black and Whites knowing the task ahead and determined to see it out.
They know they are set to get stronger in the coming weeks, with the likes of John Asiata and Will Pryce coming back into the side from injury, and even now, that serves as motivation, with the current team aiming to get the club into a position to strike when they return.
Right now that task is in motion. Hull are currently sat sixth in Super League and have their destiny in their own hands. They face Huddersfield Giants next before a week off and are looking to back up last week’s win at Wigan Warriors. There’s a sense that something is building – and all at the right time.
“Definitely,” back rower Jed Cartwright replied when asked by Hull Live if this side can further kick on this year, earning their 12th win of the season at Wigan. “We’ve still got some key players to come back, but the focus now is to put ourselves in a position so that when they’re back, we can really grab a top six spot and then really move forward and make a crack at it.
“We’re really excited for them to come back and add a lot more depth to our team and a lot more attacking flair. We’re just focusing on going out there and winning games.
“We’ve got all the confidence in our ability and our fitness to turn teams away. We feel so comfortable together; we’ve been in so many different situations this year, and we’ve handled most of them really well. Having confidence in each other is a really big thing.”
Externally, the expectation this year was that Hull would be nowhere near a play-off finish. Many tipsters had them in the bottom four, even the bottom two, but John Cartwright’s side have defied the naysayers who gave them no hope of top six. The team know what they are capable of, while aware of the challenge to keep their eye on the prize and not drop off their standards.
“We didn’t have too much expectation, but with the team that we have and the squad that we have, I knew that if we went out there and put performances in, then we could go out and beat anyone,” Cartwright explained. “It hasn’t been surprising, the season so far, but at the same time it was hard to expect anything, as it was a completely different squad.
“We hadn’t been together, and sometimes it can take four, five, or six weeks to gel. Sometimes you can gel straight away, and sometimes you can gel a little bit longer. That was probably where a bit of uncertainty was, but from game one, we hit the ground running.
“It’s exciting now (to see what and where the side can go). You never lack motivation as a player, but there is extra motivation with where we are, and that there are also three to four clubs fighting for those fifth and sixth spots. It just adds a little bit of extra motivation again. We’re really excited for the rest of the season.”
And as for what stood out for Hull’s win at Wigan, with the side picking up where they left off in the second half against Wakefield, Cartwright pointed to ball control, with the Black and Whites completing at a highly impressive 97%, but more importantly, mixing their attack up and threatening the Warriors both through the middle and on the edge.
“Our ball control hasn’t been up to where it needs to be to be at Super League level,” Cartwright added. “But if we can hold the ball, it makes everything else so much easier, organising plays. You then don’t have as much fatigue, so it makes defending easier as well. It’s everything for us.”