Brad Arthur has pinpointed the moment he knew his Leeds Rhinos side were going to defeat Hull FC.

Defending their line for two to three full sets, the Rhinos stood tall at 16-10 down, repelling what Hull threw at them, and then striking down the other end, first through Riley Lumb, who finished a slick play in the corner, and then Ryan Hall, who scored in even more dramatic fashion with just 90 seconds to go.

But for Arthur, whose side sits inside the Super League top four after the 18-16 victory at Headingley, it’s the defensive passage that stood out.

Speaking after the game, he said: “I just think there was a set of three or four in a row of their try line (which Leeds defended), and from there on in, I thought, ‘We’re going to win this. It’s going to come down to the last couple of minutes and we’re going to come up with something big.’

“You don’t always get what you deserve, but that’s what I was thinking – that we deserved something on the back of that defence to fight our way out and that it would be good for our spirit.”

Before Hall’s try, Hull had the chance to kill the game off again, but a captain’s challenge proved to be successful by the Rhinos. An error was ruled from Kallum Watkins by the on-field officials, but on replay, it was John Asiata who was deemed to have knocked on, handing possession back to Leeds.

On the resulting set, Ash Handley rampaged downfield with a strong surge before the ball was swung right to Hall to finish in the corner. And Arthur was quick to praise his big players for the big moments.

“Ash Handley with his leadership has really grown,” Arthur continued. “He’s playing some really good football. He’s playing really well.

“We had three bits of play from three experienced players at the back end of the game with three minutes to go. Kallum was nice and cool under pressure on the last tackle; he didn’t get his hands anywhere near the ball, and he was nice and calm in that challenge; he knew what he needed to do, and then Ash came up with a nice carry down the left-hand side, and then Ryan Hall scored a try on the other side that not many blokes would do. There are three bits of play from experienced players showing leadership, and that’s what their job is.”

Leeds had to come back from behind after trailing 10-4 at half-time and 16-4 in the second half. Arthur praised the character of his side to do that – especially against a Hull side that, by the Aussie’s own account, ‘played really well’.

“It was brave,” Arthru said of the Rhinos’ performance. “It was like our last three performances. Against Hull KR, we got ourselves into a winnable position and then we found a way to lose it, so here, we’ve learnt. We’re finding a way.

“We got ourselves into a winnable position last time (St Helens), and we found a way to hang on and win, and tonight we were down, and we’ve come from behind and found a way. We’re learning some good lessons while collecting a few points, which is good.

“The thing I’m really impressed with is we’re 11 rounds in, and the want and desire are still there. Every game, they’ve come with the right choices around our effort and our physicality. That’s not down to me; that’s the players – they’re making those choices. That’s the bit I’m really excited about – they’re giving us something to work with. We’re miles away from our best footy, but we don’t need to be there yet – we just need to be getting better each week.”

He added: “I’ve also got to give credit to Hull – they played really well. They didn’t give us much; they completed high, and they kicked well. They beat us at the simpler things of the game. We’ve got plenty to learn, but at least it didn’t cost us the two points.”

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John Cartwright has confirmed that Hull FC back Jordan Rapana is ‘okay’ and ‘conscious’ once again after suffering a big injury scare at Leeds Rhinos on Friday night.

Rapana was placed on a spinal board and stretchered off after a stoppage that lasted 10 minutes in the first half. The Kiwi veteran lay motionless on the floor after making contact with Rhinos half-back Jake Connor.

Going in for the tackle, Rapana came off second best before every precaution was taken in his treatment by the medical staff. And after receiving every duty of care, the player is now okay, at least in terms of being responsive and being back on his feet.

He was out cold, so he will automatically miss next Thursday’s game at Leigh Leopards. But the good news is that no serious injury has looked to have occurred.

“He’s okay,” Cartwright said post-match. “There were worried about his neck; he wasn’t responsive when they went out to him, so they had to do all the protocols for the neck injury. He’s fine now, and he’s up and about. When I say he’s fine, his neck is fine; he just copped a nasty knock to the head.

“You don’t want to see that on the footy field. It was very concerning when you saw the stretcher go out and the way he was motionless on the ground.

“We got a message back to say that he regained consciousness and then that his neck was clear. He’s in good hands now.”

Elsewhere, Hull welcomed back Brad Fash to the side after five games out with a calf injury. The player got limited minutes in the second half, with Cartwright giving an update on Jed Cartwright and Jordan Lane, who are still out with hamstring and arm injuries.

“He didn’t get long tonight, Brad,” Cartwright explained. “He’s going to need more minutes, but anyone we can get back in that back row is handy at the moment.”

Asked if anyone will sneak ahead of schedule for next week’s game, Cartwright continued: “Not at the moment. Jed is two/three weeks away (Catalans target), but Jordan is a bit longer than that (Castleford or even later target).

Cartwright also confirmed that Yusuf Aydin was a selection decision. The forward was left out of the side. He played for the reserves last week.

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John Cartwright says he didn’t see any evidence for the video official to overturn a crucial live call following a captain’s challenge before Leeds Rhinos’ frantic victory over Hull FC on Friday night.

The Black and Whites were hanging on going into the final few minutes of the game. They held possession and earned a scrum after a Leeds error was ruled by on-field referee Jack Smith. However, the Rhinos used a captain’s challenge and got the call overturned – a huge play in the game – with John Asiata ruled to have knocked on first.

Leeds then rampaged downfield, and on the next play, spread the ball wide to score through veteran winger Ryan Hall, who sent Headingley wild with a 79th-minute try.

And while praising Hall, Cartwright, whose disappointment at a fourth straight defeat was there to see, says he is looking for another ‘explanation’ after another big call went against his side.

Speaking post-match, Cartwright said: “He (the referee) called a knock-on, and I didn’t see any evidence to say it wasn’t a knock-on. I don’t know. I’ll be interested to hear what he’s got to say.

“It always is (tough to take) when you lose like that. No less effort went into the game for 79 and a half minutes than it went into that last 30 seconds. We were there in numbers to try and push him over the sideline; we got there, but he (Hall) is a big, strong boy, and he’s done that many a time.

“I don’t think there was anything in the game. We held the lead for all but 30 seconds of the game. There was nothing between the two teams. They just got a bit of a run with the ball in those last couple of minutes, and we just weren’t good enough to push Hall over the sideline. That’s the way it goes.”

Asked if his Hull side, who led 16-4 into the second half after tries from Lewis Martin, Sam Eseh, and Harvey Barron before Leeds pegged them back with three of their own, could have done any more, Cartwright continued: “Maybe we could have snuck over the line in the second half when we had a bit of possession on their line, but they’re a very good defensive side.

“I thought we challenged them, but in the end a couple of calls went against us, and that was the difference in the game.”

On his side’s performance, Cartwright believes it was an improved account, especially in terms of discipline, the big focus pre-match. That discipline was in terms of Hull’s aggression, control, and their attack, which certainly grew in the game and was a threat to a Leeds side who are also vastly improved this season.

“We just held onto the ball, mate,” Cartwright explained. “You can’t attack when you’re turning the ball over consistently early in the count and when you’re coming out of your own end – it doesn’t matter who you play against, and tonight probably showed that.

“It was a much better all-round performance. We took risks when we had to – we didn’t when we didn’t need to – it was a much more complete performance, but that’s got to be a weekly thing.

“I don’t want to talk about effort, but I thought the most pleasing thing was our discipline. I thought we found a really good balance of our aggression and maintaining our discipline. They were tested in the last few minutes in particular, but I thought they held themselves together, as we did for the whole eighty minutes. That’s got to be our benchmark if we want to compete against any side in this competition.”

Cartwright added: “The discipline and the controlled aggression were the positives. It was as physical a game as we’ve played all year. I knew they’d be physical – that’s the way Brad (Arthur) plays and coaches – but I thought we handled their pack pretty well.

“I don’t think any side got major ascendancy during the 80 minutes – sides did in small patches, and then the other side bounced back. It was a good game for the fans but a hard watch for us.”

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He’s Super League’s record try scorer for a reason – and he stepped up once again to snatch Leeds Rhinos victory from the jaws of defeat.

Come the hour, come the man, with the former Robin and reigning Rhinos legend, Ryan Hall, powering over to give Leeds the lead for the first time and steal two points from Hull FC.

Chancing their arm, the Rhinos went wide on the last tackle, with the winger powering over in the corner to send Headingley wild – and in the process, inflict a fourth successive defeat on the Black and Whites.

John Cartwright’s side took the lead and held it for the majority of the game. They were brave and gritty, but they couldn’t withstand the Rhinos fightback, with three tries paving the way for a frantic finish which saw Hall go over with less than two minutes to go.

Before that, Hull played their part. They were led well by Aidan Sezer and built themselves into the game, but they were undone at the death, with Hall’s try completing what was at one stage a 16-4 deficit into an 18-16 Rhinos victory.

Hull made one change to their side, with Brad Fash coming in for Yusuf Aydin. Elsewhere, Jordan Rapana made his 250th first-grade appearance. However, the milestone man was stretchered off the field early on after making contact with Leeds half-back Jake Connor.

Looking to put pressure on the Rhinos man, Rapana hit Connor awkwardly and came off second best, and after several minutes of treatment, left the field on a spinal board.

The game, perhaps understandably after a lengthy stoppage, took a while to get going. Both sides played too laterally instead of going direct, with errors creeping into play.

A stalemate played out for half an hour, but then Hull began to flex their muscles. Sezer’s kicks caused trouble throughout, and it was from a scrum play where the away side struck.

Perfectly crafted, Hull hit Will Pryce on the blindside, with the full-back scampering across the Leeds line, drawing in the defence, and feeding winger Lewis Martin, who dived over in the left corner.

The Black and Whites soon extended their lead. Playing more direct, they began to poke their nose through, with Amir Bourouh putting Sam Eseh onto a strong line and stretching out to score.

Sezer’s boot then put Hull 10-0 to the good, but the first half had one final twist. Returning the ball from the kick-off, Jack Ashworth made a crucial error, handing possession back to Leeds with 90 seconds remaining.

The Loiners took the invitation, with Brodie Croft back in the side after injury, hitting James McDonnell on a strong line to score. Lachlan Miller was wide with his conversion with Hull six points up at the break.

They extended that lead into the second half. Will Pryce’s kick hit the post, with John Asiata flinging the pass out for Harvey Barron to score. But Leeds responded quickly. They played direct and hard – and scored through prop Tom Holroyd, who had too much strength to power his way over.

Leeds then hit Hull again, going wide on the last tackle through Croft, who found Handley and then Riley Lumb to score in the corner. But Miller’s missed kick kept Hull ahead – a lead they kept into the final ten minutes.

But Leeds kept rolling the dice, and they got their reward. They were brave, and they rampaged downfield. On the last tackle, they chanced their arm again, with Hall having too much strength to go over in the corner. Cue bedlam. At least for three sides of Headingley. It’s a cruel game at times.

Teams

Leeds Starting XIII: 1. Lachie Miller; 5. Ryan Hall, 3. Harry Newman, 4. Ash Handley, 23. Riley Lumb; 18. Jake Connor, 6. Brodie Croft; 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 14. Jarrod O’Connor, 10. Keenan Palasia; 12. James McDonnell, 16. Morgan Gannon; 28. Kallum Watkins

Interchange: 15. Sam Lisone, 19. Tom Holroyd, 12. James Bentley, 13. Cam Smith

18th Man: 17. Cooper Jenkins

Hull Starting XIII: 6. Will Pryce; 2. Harvey Barron, 1. Jordan Rapana, 20. Davy Litten, 22. Lewis Martin; 14. Cade Cust, 7. Aidan Sezer; 8. Herman Ese’ese, 9. Amir Bourouh, 40. Liam Knight; 3. Zak Hardaker, 4. Ed Chamberlain; 13. John Asiata

Interchange: 17. Jack Ashworth, 5. Tom Briscoe, 39. Sam Eseh, 19. Brad Fash

18th Man: 25. Denive Balmforth

Teams

Leeds Tries: McDonnell, Holroyd, Lumb, Hall

Goals: Miller 1/4

Hull Tries: Martin, Eseh, Barron

Goals: Sezer 2/3

Scoring System: 0-4, 0-10, 4-10, HT, 4-16, 10-16, 14-16, 18-16, FT

Referee: Jack Smith

Attendance: 15,602

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Hello and welcome to our live coverage as Hull FC hit the road once again – taking on Brad Arthur’s Leeds Rhinos at Headingley. And make no mistake about it, this is a big one for all concerned.

Former Rhino Jamie Jones-Buchanan nailed the rivalry mid-week – it’s not the biggest with Bradford and Hull KR taking that mantle – but it’s still a fierce one between Yorkshire’s two big rugby league cities. This one promises to be no different; it’s fourth vs fifth on the Super League table, with a win for either doing wonders for their top six bids.

On that front, Hull are searching for a win and a much-improved account after three straight defeats. They need a victory here, one to reignite their season and show that they truly mean business this year. On the other hand, Leeds, much the tougher outfit under Arthur, will be looking to show their credentials with a fourth successive victory. The scene is set, and as always, we’ll be there with all the team news, build-up, live action, and post-match reaction. Stay tuned.

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John Cartwright has conceded that Hull FC’s confidence has been ‘dented’ after recent results. However, the head coach maintains the belief that his side can get back to earning their desired results so long as they keep up the ‘mettle’ within their performance and add some ‘polish’.

The Black and Whites avoided defeat in eight of their opening ten games this season but have lost their last three – a reality that leaves them clinging onto their current play-off position.

And while there is no panic with 17 rounds still to go this season, Cartwright knows that his side needs to pick themselves up quickly and ensure they get back to the standards set earlier this year.

They are boosted with the return of Brad Fash for this Friday’s clash at Leeds Rhinos and have comeback dates in sight for the likes of Jed Cartwright, Jordan Lane, and Liam Watts. That will help Hull’s cause, who, along with Oliver Holmes, have suffered from a back row shortage that has stifled other positions with players covering elsewhere.

Cartwright is still happy with the conduct of his squad given that reality but has also conceded the need for improvement. That improvement is centred around the discipline aspects of Hull’s game, with Cartwright desiring some leadership from his senior players – starting at Headingley for what is an important fixture against a Yorkshire rival.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the head coach said: “There is definitely mettle there in our performance, but we want more than that – we want to be a consistent football team. We had a tough run for a while, playing Wigan three times and Hull KR twice, and confidence is a funny thing. You can talk about it all you like, but you get confidence from actually going out and doing it.

“We were on the wrong end of the scoreboard for four of those games, and it’s dented our confidence a little bit, but a week away, and we’ve got some good senior experienced players in our squad; it won’t affect them too much.

“We’ve just got to get on with it against a tough side that is going really well. It’s a good opportunity for us, but we need to be better. The week off for the players has come at a good time. There’s a lot of experienced boys in there, and I expect them to lead the way when we get back on the field.”

Elaborating on the week off, which saw Hull train before having a few days away from camp, Cartwright continued: “It’s been pretty refreshing. We trained through last week, and they then had the weekend off, spent some time with their families, and came back in on Monday. We had another session today (Tuesday), and they’re in good spirits. We’re looking forward to Friday night.

“It’s nice when you get them (a rest); you do your best, and you try to take advantage of them, but I suppose as a coach, you just want to keep playing. After a win, you want to keep the roll going, and when you lose, you want to get back on the park pretty quickly.”

After a positive start to the season, Hull’s big challenge is to not let the season fade away, with Cartwright focused on improvement.

He explained: “We are competing very hard – we just didn’t play well to what we consider as playing well within the four walls here against Huddersfield. It was the first time we were really disappointed with what we turned up, but having said that, we were able to stay on the scoreboard with 12 men for that whole second half.

“We won similar games earlier in the year. I’ve said all along that we haven’t put anyone away on the scoreboard by any stretch; we’ve won a lot of close games, and the fact is you don’t win every close game; you’re going to lose one sooner or later, and that was Huddersfield.

“Maybe we started to read the papers a bit and get a bit carried away. But the fact was that we only won close games; that’s a good sign of our mettle, but in a lot of those games, there is room for a lot of improvement in us football-wise. In the last two weeks, some errors and discipline areas have been addressed. Hopefully, we can fix them.

“We’ve had two good weeks to address it all, but the proof will come Friday night. The players are buying into how we are trying to develop the team and get to where we want to be.

“We just want to be consistent every week and get to the level where the fans know that the side is always going to have a crack no matter what. If we could get a bit of polish on the end of it, that would be great.”

Touching on that expectation, Cartwright added: “That’s the nature of the competition. Everyone wants to win – fans want to win – and if you don’t, they look for change pretty quickly.”

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Hull FC have confirmed the line-up for their 2025 ‘Hull and Proud’ week – with this year’s event holding familiar favourites and a members meeting with club CEO Richie Myler.

The week will conclude with Hull’s ‘Big Night Out’ fixture against Castleford Tigers, with the club recently confirming a ‘Members Double’ ticket offer for what they anticipate to be another strong crowd at the MKM Stadium. Members can purchase an additional two tickets for just £10.

Meanwhile, ‘Hull and Proud’ week was established over a decade ago and ‘celebrates the club’s position in the local community and its relationship with its passionate supporters’.

The week is named after the club’s motto, with supporters having various opportunities to mix with Hull FC players, from quiz nights to a Nandos takeover and more.

Here is a rundown of the full ‘Hull and Proud’ week schedule:

Monday 9th June – Hull FC’s Big Fat Quiz Of The Year @ Taphouse

Hull FC will kick off the week with a classic pub quiz at 7.00pm at the Taphouse bar on Humber Street. The first ten teams to book will be assigned a player, while the quiz will be hosted by BBC Radio Humberside commentator Richard Stead. Pan-Asian street food will be served.

Tuesday 10th June – Cooking Night @ Nandos, St Stephen’s

Fancy your Nando’s cooked by a Hull FC star? Of course you do. This family event has proven to be popular over the years, and this one promises to be no different. The players will be in-house from 5:00pm, taking on waiter, host, and chef roles for the night.

Wednesday 11th June – Heritage Night @ University of Hull

The club will put on displays of club memorabilia – including a history of shirts, historic trophies, and old programmes. Former players will be in attendance alongside club historian Bill Dalton.

Thursday 12th June – Members’ Meeting @ University of Hull

Supporters will have the chance to sit down and put their questions to Hull FC Chief Executive, Richie Myler, at the latest Members’ Meeting in the calendar. Tickets will be priced at £5, with proceeds donated to Hull FC’s Academy tour of Australia in 2027.

Friday 13th June – ‘BIG Night Out’ @ MKM Stadium

Hull FC will take on Castleford Tigers at the MKM Stadium – for what will be their first home game in over six weeks. Members can purchase two additional tickets for £10. The option is also there to purchase the one for £5. Pre-match, there will be a fan park in West Park.

Saturday 14th June – Reserves Derby

Hull FC will host a second rugby league match during the week, as the reserves derby heads to Hilltop – the home of local community club, Cottingham Tigers. The Black and Whites take on Hull KR (1.00pm kick-off), with the full first-team squad in attendance to meet and greet supporters. There will also be family activities and vendors there throughout the day.

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Hull FC head to Headingley to take on Leeds Rhinos on Friday night. It’s an important clash for the Black and Whites, who are looking to end a run of three straight defeats and get their season back on track.

They face a Leeds side in good form who sit in fourth spot in Super League – a position Hull can claw back with victory.

Elsewhere, Vegas 2026 has been formally announced with the Rhinos taking on Hull KR – but the Black and Whites remain frontrunners to feature stateside in the USA come 2027. Here’s the latest notebook.

Vegas, baby!

Leeds will take on Hull KR in Las Vegas next year, with Canterbury Bulldogs also meeting St George Illawarra Dragons and North Queensland Cowboys facing Newcastle Knights.

The Robins will be the home team for the event, which has a five-year deal at Allegiant Stadium. And with two guaranteed events set to take place in 2027 and 2028, Hull remain keen to join the party.

The Black and Whites, as first reported by Hull Live earlier this year, expressed an interest to play in Vegas next season but ideally – and in the midst of a long-term rebuild – held the preference to play in 2027. That desire is now on course to be an eventuality, with Hull frontrunners to head over the Atlantic and take on St Helens.

Huddersfield Giants also voiced their desire to go stateside – and while other Super League clubs will raise interest for 2027 in the coming months, Hull and Saints are certainly in the driving seat right now.

As for the NRL, Melbourne Storm will be favourites to feature in 2027. The Storm aired their disappointment at missing out in 2026, with the NRL juggernaut potentially one of the four Australian clubs involved should the Black and Whites come to town.

Crucial block of fixtures ahead

To the present, and Hull face a huge clash at Headingley on Friday night – the first of three away games before hosting Castleford Tigers next month. Meeting Leeds Rhinos in West Yorkshire before games at Leigh Leopards and Catalans Dragons, it’s a crucial block of fixtures for Hull against sides in and around the top six picture.

And with a key discipline fix-up aired by all, they’ll be confident now of returning to the early-season heights that saw them avoid defeat in eight of their first ten games.

Airing the disappointing Magic Weekend defeat to Huddersfield, John Cartwright has given a firm assessment to his side, who know what’s needed to get back on track.

Captain Aidan Sezer explained: “That’s Carty to a T – there’s no way about it. There’s no beating around the bush. We addressed our discipline, but it’s not about looking back to two weeks ago; it’s looking forward. We’ve got an important block now, and we can take some confidence into that.

“In any walk of life, you can’t live in the past. It’s about what’s ahead of you and what you can control. What’s happened has happened. Magic is done now, and it’s about taking lessons from what’s happened and moving forward. That’s the mentality we’ve got to have as a team.”

As for the week off, Sezer added: “It was a good little reset – we’re ten rounds in now, so it was good to freshen the bodies up, debrief where we are in the season, and look forward to what is an important block.

“We’ve still got a lot of footy still to play this season, and we just want to keep improving every week. We’re a few bodies down, and we had a big block before that. We went to Magic the week before, and it was a tough one; we let ourselves down in a lot of areas, but we’ve prepped well this week, and hopefully we can produce a good performance on Friday.”

Hull sit in fifth position going into the clash. A defeat could drop them to seventh, but a win would propel them back to fourth spot.

Bumper away following

Hull’s away followings have been well documented this season. The Black and Whites took the most fans to Magic Weekend, with over 1,500 tickets sold for Headingley. With over 2,000 going to Castleford and Wakefield and well over 1,000 going to Wigan and Warrington, the Old Faithful have made themselves heard this year. And that support will be just as important against the Rhinos. A massive game awaits.

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Herman Ese’ese was confirmed this week as Hull FC’s Player of the Month for April – the second consecutive month he has won the award – but despite his current form, head coach John Cartwright insists the prop forward can get even better.

Ese’ese has arguably been the leading front rower in Super League this year. He’s played huge minutes, averaging an hour of playing time every week, while his workload and contributions are as good as any.

And while Ese’ese’s punch is well-known, it’s perhaps the defensive side of his game that is as impressive as anything, and while you don’t need numbers to realise that the 30-year-old has been bang at it this year, they certainly do the player no harm.

In ten Super League rounds so far, he has made 279 tackles, averaging 27 a game. However, his tackle efficiency is right up there at 95%. He has missed just 12 attempts all year and has given away no penalties.

With the ball, he has made 154 carries, averaging 15 a game for an average metre total of 110. His total metres are 1,105. He has busted through 174 tackles and made 81 offloads while making just four errors.

For good measure, he also has seven tries to his name in both competitions this year and has been available for every game – with Cartwright leading his plaudits – but also stating the areas where he can get even better.

“He never misses a minute,” the head coach said in his weekly press conference. “He plays big minutes on the field, and he doesn’t like coming off. He likes to play longer, but for the betterment of the team, we limit him to what he’s doing at the minute.

“He’s a quiet and humble sort of fella. He doesn’t say a lot; he just goes and gets his work done. You don’t see many front-rowers that are able to score the tries that he does. He’s at the stage of his career where we can still get more out of him – we can make him better, and he can make himself better. The best is still to come, I think.

“Physically we can keep working on him and get him ready for longer minutes. The longer he can play at that level he’s at at the moment, the harder it’s going to be for oppositions to be able to handle him.

“He had a couple of really good seasons in the NRL. He’s at a good age. He’s at the peak of his powers, but I’d say there’s still plenty of improvement left in him.”

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Hull FC know all too well the threat of Jake Connor – with the now Leeds Rhinos star plying his trade in the Black and White for six seasons.

In that time, Connor’s attacking talent was undoubted. The try-assist king, he excelled for the Airlie Birds before moving back to former club Huddersfield Giants when Tony Smith took charge of Hull.

However, it’s at Leeds where he has truly hit his straps again. One of the form players in the Super League competition, the now 30-year-old maverick leads the way in the Man of Steel charts, with the trust and freedom given by coach Brad Arthur bringing the best out of him.

That threat is something John Cartwright is well aware of, with the Hull boss laying out the importance of stopping Connor from ‘having a night out’ at Headingley.

“He’s made a big difference to them with his attacking flair,” Cartwright, speaking in his pre-match press conference, said. “They’ve really worked hard defensively; you can see that, but in a lot of their tries, he’s been around.

“He’s probably their joker – he supplies that X-factor for them in and among that tough, grinding mentality. Players like that – they make a difference – and you’ve got to be on your game. If they have a night out, you basically don’t win the game.”

On Leeds, who currently sit in fourth spot with six wins from their opening ten games, Cartwright continued: “They’re a tough team. It’s going to be a really good atmosphere there – I dare say it will be close to a full house.

“They’re playing really well – even in the games they have lost, they have competed. They’ve also beaten some of the better teams. They pushed KR all the way, and they beat Wigan.

“You look at them on paper, and they’ve got class all over the park, and they’re very physical – that’s why they compete in games. They compete at every play, and they make themselves hard to beat.”

Rejuvenated by Arthur, Leeds have resembled something closer to their old selves this year. A tough and gritty side who could welcome back Cam Smith, Brodie Croft, and Ryan Hall after injuries, Cartwright is expecting a firm challenge in West Yorkshire.

He said: “Brad hasn’t been there all that long, but he is getting the best out of them defensively, and now they’re starting to score some points as well. Their best days look like they’re in front of them.”

“He plays a tough style of footy, which you have to do if you want to be successful at this level. His teams are always really well prepared, and they play tough.”

But while respecting their opposition, Hull know they must look to their own borders, with discipline their key focus leading into the Headingley clash.

That goes from their tackle height but also to how they play, where they kick from, and where they turn the ball over – with composure, patience, and connection all sought.

“We’ve made it pretty clear this week that we need to be squeaky clean,” Cartwright explained. “We’re only going to be talking to each other and getting our game on. We can’t let things that are out of our control control what we do. We’ll be watching that very closely.

“You work so hard to get wins – you see the elations of the players when they get one – so it’s no different this week. We’ve got a reasonable start under our belt, but it’s still very early, and I feel if we can get some competition for places back into the team, that’s when we’ll start to improve.”

He added: “No one goes out there to make mistakes, but whether it’s concentration or preparation, we’ve addressed both, and we’ve trained this week as well as I’ve seen us train. We were very efficient with the ball, and we did everything that we spoke about.

“That’s the frustrating thing about coaching football, I suppose; the pressure of the game when it’s on and being able to perform what you practise becomes paramount, but we had a good week last week and a good week this week. We’re as prepared as we can be.”

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