1 week Ago By [email protected] (Daniel Tomlinson)
Hull FC know the month of April is going to test them, but with their mentality set and their vision clear, they're up for the challenge – one that continues in Super League with a trip across the Pennines to take on Warrington Wolves on Saturday evening. And while it's not make or break, Hull know they have to step up and display the characteristics that have earned them their plaudits so far in order to settle their biggest barometer this year: to compete. At the centre of their performances has been a level of togetherness, fight, and spirit – one that has paved the way for six wins in all competitions – but now, up against three sides expected to be right up there – Wire, Hull KR , and Wigan – it's time to see what they are truly made of.
Head coach John Cartwright is fully aware of that challenge, but buoyed by a confidence picked up from what has been a much-improved outfit this season, Hull, with a big away following set to be behind them, are ready to maximise their latest opportunity. "It's going to answer a few questions about where we are at," Cartwright, speaking pre-match, said on his side's next three games. "But our whole goal from the very first training session was to compete and go out and compete on every play.
"You can't always control the result, but what we aim to do is to compete and compete hard on every play. If we're near the scoreboard with 20 minutes to go, we always think we can win a game. That's our mentality.
That won't change no matter who we are playing. "It's about us just preparing and trying to build that mentality where we go hard on every play. That's what we've done so far, and that's what we'll continue to do.
" Hard at training this week, Hull are aiming to do all they can to prepare the right way. Heading over the Pennines, that's the key, with Cartwright taking an onus on the defeat to Hull KR last week, looking at areas where he can better coach his side and fix up the finer details. "We were really disappointed, and I was disappointed in myself as well," Cartwright revealed.
"I don't think I handled the preparation as well as I possibly could. "They're a very good team; both sides felt each other out early, both sides made errors early, and they probably knuckled down and handled the occasion better than what we did. "For us to compete with the top sides, there were too many easy tries; we made defensive errors, and they came up with points.
You can get away with it when you're playing other sides, but when you're playing the best, you can't afford the scoreboard to get away from you, and that's what happened." He continued: "There’s no getting away from the hype of the game. Being at the ground and the build-up it was for the game, the roar of the ground when both sides came out to warm up – it's a big occasion, and you've got to stifle that and make sure that when you get around the field, you have cool heads, calm heads.
I thought Hull KR came to that position quicker than we did. "It had a Grand Final feel to it, but at the end of the day, it wasn't a final; it was a quarter-final. It's massive for the local area and the people, the bragging rights, and the tradition, but you've got to play your best football, and maybe I got caught up in the heat of the situation.
You're always your own harshest critic, and I just think I could have handled things better." Knuckling down and ready to go, Cartwright is focused on that preparation, with the Aussie geared up by what he's seen, challenging his side to stay cool and ice the big moments. "To handle it is all about the week and how you build into it," he added.
"You've got to address the differences from game to game, and that's the difficult bit. I've got to make sure they're prepared to run out on the field, not lose their heads, keep their focus, and concentrate on what's important. "They've done that really well; to be able to come from behind in games continuously, it does show a level of coolness and sticking to what works for you.
To a point, I was very happy with the way they stuck at it; it could have got very ugly with the scoreline, and there was a lot of momentum with KR, but we finally knuckled down and played the football we know we can play. "We came up with a couple of tries, and that's really important. It's going to be the same atmosphere in a couple of weeks; we just need to tweak a couple of little things in our preparation and rely on our experienced players on the field to execute what we talk about.
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