Six agains were a cause of frustration despite Hull FC’s win over Leeds.
20:33, 22 Mar 2026Updated 20:59, 22 Mar 2026
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright.(Image: Dave Lofthouse, Hull FC)
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright was left confused by some of the six-again calls in Sunday’s 24-16 victory over Leeds Rhinos – and even sent John Asiata to speak to referee Liam Moore at half-time to get some ‘clarity’ on what his side were doing wrong.
Captaining the Black and Whites, Asiata was visibly talking to Moore before heading down the tunnel at the break, with Hull – down 16-14 at the break – seeing a sequence of six agains go against them in the first half – a reverse that certainly seemed inconsistent and one Cartwright didn’t think was fair game.
After a fluent start, the game turned into a six-again marathon after the first quarter, and given the bearing it has on momentum and a team’s ability to score points, Cartwright sought answers through his skipper.
“Again, it’s not understanding why or how,” the head coach, who cut an animated figure in his coaching box, told Hull Live post-match when asked about the lack of consistency in six agains. “It’s a passionate game, and if you’re not reacting, you’re not in the right game.
“It was frustration from me and I was talking and trying to address Johnny more than anything, trying to find out why we were so often penalised.
“I think it was 9-4 against us in the first half, penalties and six to go – I just didn’t see us being that much worse than them. I wanted Johnny to get some clarity from the referee on what we were doing so wrong.”
The game continued with a sequence of six agains and penalties after half-time. However, despite how frustrating or inconsistent the calls were, keeping calm was key.
“It’s frustrating at times,” half back Jake Arthur said post-match. “But Carty had spoken to us and no matter what the ref calls, we just adapt, get our line set, and try to defend it.
“No one was getting too upset about it. We were just focused on our next job. “I’ve never seen a referee change a decision so once it’s done, all we can control what’s in front of us and control that next play.”
That mentality was absent in Leeds’ display, with head coach Brad Arthur blasting his side post-match after his side gave away three penalties alone for dissent.
“Some of the ill-discipline is not what I want our club to be about and be part of,” Arthur said. “It’s pretty embarrassing, some of the discipline in the second half. How many blokes want to talk to the referee instead of just worrying about doing their own job? It’s not good enough.
“We gave away three penalties for dissent. I’m not happy about that. Not at all. It’s not a good reflection. We’ve worked so hard to get ourselves in a good place with our discipline and not be known for that.
“But, in the space of 40 minutes you can undo it, can’t you? We have some work to do there.”
He added: “I feel like we clawed it back at the back end of the first half and we didn’t let the frustration boil over. But, in the second half, and we talked about it at half-time, we knew they were going to throw everything at us and we couldn’t let it lead to frustration but we did.
“We got frustrated. I’ve said this a bit about this team and our losses look the same, on the back of frustration. I’m not going to sit here and blame anyone else but ourselves. As far as I’m concerned, anything that happened out there, we brought upon ourselves and deserved.
“It’s the way the game’s going and you have to be on board and disciplined around it or you’ll pay the price. We paid the price today.”