Tonight’s cup tie is a trip down memory lane for Hull FC coach John Cartwright.
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright.
The Challenge Cup never fails to deliver on a story, and for Hull FC’s John Cartwright, those nostalgic emotions will be running high at Salford RLFC on Friday night.
Returning to the club where he made a cup semi-final appearance as a player 29 years ago, the Black and Whites head coach is already down memory lane.
Spending the 1997 season at Salford, Cartwright moved to the original Red Devils after a strong stint with hometown outfit Penrith Panthers – where he resides in their ‘Team of Legends’ to this very day.
But it’s Salford where he finished his playing career, featuring in cup wins over Castleford, PSG, and Warrington. Ultimately, the run ended against St Helens, who went on to beat Bradford in the ’97 final, but they are still memories Cartwright cherishes – and memories that were reignited during Hull’s game at Salford last year.
“I’ve got great memories of Salford,” Cartwright, speaking to Hull Live, said. “I really enjoyed my time at the club. They were a battling club back then as well. They recruited a lot of experienced players and they had a lot of young talent there as well.
“I just really enjoyed the year. We went out and we gave it our all every single week and we didn’t have too bad of a year.
“I’ve only been back there the once, and that was last year. I had a couple of fans come up to me who remembered the 1997 season when I played there and they remembered games that I played in. It was a really nice touch.”
That sentimental feeling with Salford didn’t go away last year, with Hull performing a guard of honour for the Greater Manchester side at the MKM Stadium. Led by vice-captain John Asiata, it was a show of unity, and while the Salford club is reformed for 2026 after the Red Devils’ liquidation last December, the respect is still strong.
“One of the things I always say is that you must respect the game,” Cartwright said. “It supplies us all with great times, great memories, and a great livelihood. It’s always about respecting the game first and that’s what that was about.
“Everyone knew the challenges that Salford were going through and everyone appreciated their supporters being there. It was just one of those spur-of-the-moment things.”
Hull will respect Salford once again for the third-round tie this Friday, sending a strong team across the Pennines to compete against part-time opposition spearheaded by former FC hooker Brad Dwyer. In fact, for Cartwright, it’s as serious a game as they get, and only a solid, professional performance will do.
“We want to put a performance together that gets us ready for Bradford,” he said. “We want to play like we expect to play every week, be consistent in the areas that we need to be, and make sure we do all the little things that we speak about every week, no matter who we are playing.
“We’re going as hard as we can. We’re going strong; anyone with any sort of niggles won’t play, but we’re going as strong as we possibly can.
“I think it’s a good chance to prepare the team. It’s a good opportunity and we’re going to take the game very seriously. It’s a Challenge Cup game and we’ll treat it with the respect that it deserves and the opposition with the respect that they deserve.”
And on Salford, who have signed two loan players in Wigan youngsters Josh Cartwright and Leo Wadsworth ahead of the tie, the Hull boss added: “We’re expecting plenty of enthusiasm.
“I’m sure they’ll get a few down there, a decent crowd down there, as they did in their first league game last month, and I’m sure this one will be no different.
“I’m sure Hull will take a few people over too, but yeah, we’re expecting them to be spirited, and we’re expecting them to throw everything at it.”
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