John Cartwright on Hull FC’s recruitment.
Hull FC made an early focus to strengthen their pack for the 2026 season. They secured three signings from Super League rivals – Joe Batchelor, James Bell, and Harvey Hill – and then went and got another from the Championship in Connor Bailey.
The result leaves Hull, alongside the likes of Herman Ese’ese, John Asiata, Liam Knight, Jed Cartwright, etc., with a pack they believe can get on top next year.
And for head coach John Cartwright, who has seen forwards in particular go down injured this season, the need to target that area was obvious.
“You have to be strong through the middle of the field,” he said. “Those guys, they do the most tackles and they do the most runs, so they’re the most vulnerable to injury.
“We’ve looked to really strengthen through the middle of the field. We’re very comfortable with what we have in the outside backs and in the halves, so the area to strengthen was pretty obvious to us all.
“We just need to have good strong men in the middle of the field with their best years ahead of them. They are very important signings for the club.”
While adding experience and the like, the aim of Hull’s recruitment was to complement what was already here, with Bell, for one, signed to share the loose forward role and take some pressure off John Asiata.
“He’ll be a help for John,” Cartwright said of Hull’s new Kiwi recruit. “He’s a similar type of player, and we’ve really missed that when John has been unavailable this year. When he became available, it was a good option for us.”
And on Batchelor, Cartwright continued: “He’s a real pro, he’s experienced, and he does all the one percenters really well. He prides his game on it. He’s one of the ones you won’t notice a lot, but he does all the little things that nobody likes to do.”
And while the current St Helens duo bring the experience, Hull have also turned to youth. Knowing they needed both facets in their squad, they prised Hill away from Wigan earlier this year, with the player joining the club on a long-term deal for next season.
“He’s young, and he’s had great experience in a great system,” Cartwright said. “In the back half of the year this year, he’s been very strong for Wigan. He’s also a great size and he’s a really good fella to talk to. He’s a committed team man and a good guy out of a good system.”
Hull also tied up Bailey six or so months ago, with the player now getting a second crack at Super League, where he debuted for Wakefield back in 2020.
“He’s had a fantastic year at York,” Cartwright added. “He’s young. He’s a good size, and we feel with a full-time off-season, there’s only upside for him. It is an area where we’ve been a little bit skinny this year, the back row, so there’s a lot of things to like about him.
“His age, the fact he’s been at Super League before, gone back and done some hard work, and worked a job means he’ll appreciate coming back into a full-time squad and environment.
“He’s been a standout for them in a side that has a record-breaking run. That’s what you look at when you recruit – you look for players playing well in the position you’re looking to recruit and he filled all those areas.”