John Cartwright admitted Hull FC’s start to the Betfred Super League season has surpassed expectations – mainly because he did not have any to begin with.
Another dogged performance earned last season’s 11th-place finishers a 16-12 victory away to Wakefield Trinity in Friday’s Round 5 clash, lifting the Black and Whites up to third and just one point behind cross-city rivals Hull KR, who host Leigh Leopards on Sunday.
Hull FC’s return to Super League action came on the back of them booking a Betfred Challenge Cup quarter-final place with a stunning comeback win over holders Wigan Warriors last Saturday, and head coach Cartwright could hardly be happier with how his time at the club has begun.
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“In all honesty, I didn’t have any expectations coming in,” Cartwright told Sky Sports. “I just wanted to get to know the group.
“I knew the players we were bringing in were very competitive, so we weren’t going to go away. “We’ve won a lot of tight games and you can lose them as easy as win them, but there’s a lot of grit there which has got us over the line and hopefully we can keep doing it.”
As was the case against Wigan, the visitors had to do it the hard way against Wakefield after Mason Lino’s penalty goal and Jack Croft’s converted try put Trinity eight points up with 11 minutes gone.
But a tries from player of the match Herman Ese’ese, Ed Chamberlain and Lewis Martin, plus two Aidan Sezer conversions secured the win, even though former Hull FC man Cameron Scott made things interesting with a late score for Wakefield.
The hosts had possible tries from Josh Rourke, Tom Johnstone and Lino ruled out by the officials as well, but Cartwright was delighted with the determination shown by his side to see the game through.
“It comes from within – they’re driving that,” Cartwright said. “Training is hard, but you try to make their time at training as enjoyable as possible.
“If training becomes a chore, you’re doing something wrong, I think. They work hard, they get there and enjoy each other’s company – and winning always helps.
“I was really worried about a comedown from the Wigan game last week. There was a lot of emotion there and [Wakefield] started strongly.
“Just to hang in and come out the other end was really pleasing.”
