It’s been a solid start to his Hull career.
05:00, 23 Feb 2026Updated 08:36, 23 Feb 2026
Hull FC centre Arthur Romano. (Image: Dave Loftouse, Hull FC)
Hull FC were dominated at Wigan Warriors on Saturday night in what was tough going at the Brick Community Stadium. However, one player stood tall despite the nature of the 34-6 defeat: Arthur Romano.
Taking the limited positives out of the loss, head coach John Cartwright praised the Frenchman for a gutsy display, with the centre carrying the ball strong and busy with his workload despite the Wigan onslaught that saw them put a stranglehold on Hull from the get-go and never relinquish that control.
But Romano – one of eight new recruits for the 2026 season – certainly stood up and added to the promise he’s shown in all trial, league and cup matches for Hull so far this year, with the 28-year-old, who has played both back row and centre, one of the side’s best performers in all of the five run-outs.
“He played great,” Cartwright told Hull Live post-match. “He put his body on the line. He’s done that all year in the few games that we’ve played. Whenever things have got tough, he’s always been there to put his hand up.
“Whatever you ask him to do, he does it. If you asked him to play front row, he’d do it for you. He’s going to be a good addition to the club.”
Cartwright also praised Connor Bailey after his first Super League appearance for the club. The versatile former York Knights player came on in the second half, playing at loose-forward in place of Yusuf Aydin.
“It’s a tough task going out there when the side is going backwards,” Cartwright said. “But I thought he did well. He didn’t look out of place, put it that way.
“He had some good carries of the ball. He brought some energy to us. I was very happy with him.”
Cartwright also explained Callum Kemp’s role, with the teenage half-back also coming off the bench late in the game.
“He was there for cover,” Cartwright explained. “The middles worked so hard and they did so much defence – it was our own doing.
“We got what we deserved but they worked really hard and made lots of tackles, going backwards a lot. I was concerned with Cal going out there and having to mark (Junior) Nsemba all night. The plan was to ease him into the game but the game was gone when we got him out there.”