It’s been a tough start to the season, with a vicious cycle unfolding.
05:00, 20 Mar 2026Updated 14:15, 20 Mar 2026
Hull FC hooker Amir Bourouh.
There’s no denying where Hull FC are going wrong this year, with John Cartwright’s side spending most of the season so far on the back foot through errors, six agains, and penalties, playing games in their own half, and for the most part, hanging on for dear life.
It’s no recipe for rugby league success – especially with rugby leagues faster rucks and quicker game this year – and it shows, with Hull winning just one of their opening four Super League games and out of the Challenge Cup after defeat at Leigh Leopards last week.
To change their fortune, Cartwright – insistent that his side are there physically this year – knows Hull have got to start getting a foothold in games, with a fair share of possession and field position. The belief is that even keel will then get their go-forward going in attack and their line speed going in defence, with the current reality of errors made and penalties given away sucking the energy out of performances and leaving Hull in a vicious cycle they are unable to recover from.
“I think we made close to 400 tackles last week,” Cartwright, speaking to Hull Live, said. “You don’t win many games making close to 400 tackles. Reduce that and it supplies a bit more energy for the team going forward.
“That’s been our main issue – not being able to play the type of football we want to play. We’ve been on the back foot through errors and penalties and six to-gos. That’s the thing that has cost us the most.
“There’s no magic secret. Last week was just a continuation of the week before. We’re giving the opposition too many free goes at us, and it’s hurting us. We gave away ten penalties and only received three. We made ten errors and we had five six-agains against us. That’s a lot of free shots for the opposition.
“It was hard work to defend what we tossed up so at the end of the day, they did pretty well to give the opposition so much ball but still be in the game, but that’s neither here nor there – we’ve got to stop putting ourselves in that position.”
Needing a big response, Hull – on a run of four successive defeats – now face Leeds Rhinos on Sunday afternoon, looking to put a tough few weeks behind them. To do that, there are no secrets on what the Black and Whites must fix up most.
“We have to be better at not giving the opposition so much ball at us,” Cartwright continued. “It’s stopping us from getting chances with the ball. The only game we completed where we set out to do so was the Bradford game, and we turned up with a win on that occasion.
“There was nothing flash or fancy about it; it was just getting to the end of our sets and trying to kick deep and play some football down the other end. We did that well in the first game, and we haven’t been able to do it since.”
The head coach added: “It’s a long, long season, and we’ve just got to keep battling away. We’ve got to scramble as best as we possibly can, with the ball and without the ball, and come up with a gritty win. It’s time for action now.”