Hull FC welcomed back Will Pryce and John Asiata – with an update on Aidan Sezer given.
John Cartwright has piled the praise on Hull FC’s returning duo Will Pryce and John Asaita after both players made their long-awaited returns to action after hamstring injuries.
Both players slotted back into the Hull lineup for Sunday’s 80-6 massacre over Salford Red Devils, and both played their part. Lining up at full-back, Pryce nailed his pass selection and his execution, having a big say in several of Hull’s 14 tries. He assisted Lewis Martin and was always dangerous with the ball in hand, electric on his feet and full of pace.
Asiata also showed this influence. He is crucial to Hull’s attacking shape, with Cartwright also alluding to his leadership and defensive work. Both players got through unscathed, with Asiata playing the full first half and Pryce around 50 or so minutes.
“We were only going to play them for the period of time that they played,” Cartwright said in his pre-match press conference. “That was the plan. It’s always a tough watch when you get guys coming back from bad hamstring tears or any soft tissue tears, so we kept an eye on them.
“There was quite a lot of sprints in the game, which is what puts the pressure on hamstrings. So we had to be conscious of that. But to get a game in before a big, tough six weeks of games coming up, it’s a bit of a head start for them, I think.
“They make an enormous difference. We haven’t mentioned them at all; they’ve been out around 12 weeks, the pair of them, and they provide a lot of attack for us. They’re dangerous with the ball and very important to our defence.
“Prycey at the back and Johnny’s one of our harder hitters in defence and just a calming influence. They’ve definitely been missed. There’s no doubt about that.”
However, another returnee wasn’t as successful in his comeback, with Ed Chamberlain leaving the field with a rib issue in the first half.
“I think he’s got a rib cartilage problem,” Cartwright said. “It just depends how bad it is. Until we get a scan, it could be anything from two to four weeks.”
One player who has had a scan is club captain Aidan Sezer, who missed the Salford rout with a shoulder injury. Cartwright confirmed the club will now assess the situation week to week, with the good news that the half-back doesn’t require surgery yet.
“He’s had a scan,” Cartwright confirmed to Hull Live. “No surgery is needed at the moment so we’ll just assess him week to week. He’s okay, though. He’s fine.”
And on the Salford win, which saw Hull race away to a 50-0 half-time lead with 14 tries scored in total for their second biggest Super League win of all time, Cartwright added: “Our execution is what we spoke about.
“We had a whole new 6, 7 and 1, and it was the first time they’ve really played together. They had had a few sessions together. We just spoke about trying to play structured so everyone knew their role, everyone knew the job, and they did it well.
“It’s going to be a different kettle of fish next week (against Leigh), but you can only play what’s put in front of you, and those types of games can sometimes get pretty ugly, messy, and slow. So for us to be scoring some tries, it was just nice to see the crowd seeing us score some tries at home.
“We spoke straight after they got back in from their break about dedicating this to our loyal members and our loyal fans. We didn’t know who we were going to play as far as individuals on the paddock go, but today was just about getting the crowd cheering and giving them a good week.”