A tough start – but Hull have time on their side.
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright.(Image: SW PIX)
Hull FC are hoping to welcome back two forwards to their side for Thursday’s game at Wakefield Trinity.
The Black and Whites – who lost Aidan Sezer, Jed Cartwright, and Harvey Barron to injury against York Knights on Friday night – will see prop forward Ligi Sao return to the field after the completion of a two-match suspension, with head coach John Cartwright also confirming that loose man James Bell is also in contention.
Bell injured his knee in a pre-season wrestling session back in December and, after surgery, is now closing in on a welcome return to action. Training for the last two weeks, Cartwright is now hoping to select the player for the Super League round four clash.
“James Bell is a chance,” the head coach, speaking post-match on Friday, said. “He’s been training the last week with the team. He’s a chance. And Ligi will be back from suspension. We’ve got a few troops coming back. We’ll get everyone as healthy as we can and we’ll come up with a team – we’ve got to go to Wakefield and improve again.”
And after a difficult start to the Super League season, which saw Hull come from behind to defeat Bradford Bulls in the opening round before suffering back-to-back defeats to Wigan Warriors and York, Cartwright is calling for time and patience as his team – who had an indifferent pre-season with 13 surgeries and recoveries – look to click together.
“There’s no panic,” the head coach said. “We’re getting ourselves in good positions, but we’re lacking polish on the end of it. They haven’t spent a lot of time together and again, we had a new combination out there with no Will Pyrce. There’s no excuse, though. We train all day every day – we’ve just got to be better.”
Keeping his counsel, Cartwright aired a measured take on Hull’s current situation – and is confident they can turn it around.
“It’s game three,” he said. “We’re not happy with the way that we’re going and when you’re not winning, your confidence goes down. We’ve got a tough game next week and it doesn’t get any easier but this is when you find out what you’re made of.”
He added: “You never want to lose – I hate losing and it makes for a horrible weekend, and I sympathise with everyone who does have an opinion on it. We’re not playing well. In certain aspects of the game we’re getting the ball into positions where tries are scored but we’re just not clicking up that end of the field at the moment.”