John Cartwright makes crucial Hull FC quota point as exciting youth declaration made

Hull FC believe they have put both time and care into their recruitment for 2025, with John Cartwright laying out a crucial element of it that they just have to get right: their quota situation.

Last season, Hull parted ways with four of their seven quota spots, with Tex Hoy, Fa'amanu Brown, Franklin Pele, and Jayden Okunbor all departing the club before the half-way stage of the campaign. That left Hull short, with only Jed Cartwright coming in, and for the new head coach, who begins pre-season training on Tuesday, it's a situation that just can't afford to be in again.

Bringing John Asiata, Aidan Sezer, Jordan Rapana, and Cade Cust into the squad for 2025, Cartwright is hoping to get the best out of all four players, with the Australian knowing them all from his time in the NRL. In fact, Cartwright debuted both Sezer and Rapana at the Gold Coast Titans, worked with Asiata at the North Queensland Cowboys, where they won a Premiership together in 2015, and spent time with Cade Cust at the Manly Sea Eagles.

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"The big difference has to be our quota players," Cartwright, speaking exclusively to Hull Live, said. "It's non-negotiable. We just have to get more out of quota players this year than we did last year.

"You bring quota players into your club to make a difference, and the club lost four before the halfway point of the season this year, which is nearly impossible to come back from. Yeah, we wanted the results to be better, and there were some blowout scorelines that no fan wants to see, but if any side loses four quota players, it's a tough ask to be competitive. We have to be better there."

Opening up on Hull's NRL signings, recruits he had a big hand in after confirmation of his appointment at Hull, Cartwright is buoyed by what's to come. He continued: "It is difficult to get players from the NRL now. The money over there has gone through the roof over the last four or five years, but I've watched Sezer and Rapana this year, I had both those kids before at the Titans; Jordan was an 18-year-old and Aidan was a 20-year-old, and I think they're playing as well now as they ever have.

"Their bodies are good, and they're in good shape. The experiences they've gained since I was involved with them are enormous. They're both leaders on and off the field and they are players that are going to make the boys around them better

"John Asiata, too, I know from my time at the Cowboys, and I'm really excited about Cade Cust. I had him at Manly, and I really thought that at some stage, he could be anything. He's one of those guys where his first season is outstanding and then his second season is the harder one. He had some injuries along the way, but he's gone to Wigan and won a Challenge Cup. He's spent some time at Salford, but he's only young; he's a super competitor, and I really believe that I can get the best out of him."

As well as new recruits, with domestic additions also made, Hull are looking to continue to blood young talent, something that saw the likes of Lewis Martin, Logan Moy, and Jack Charles all play over 15 games last season.

"We've made several recruits, and while people will talk a lot about last year, sometimes perception is reality," Cartwright explained. "The perception is that no matter who is in the side next year, we're coming off a pretty ordinary year, so we have to turn that perception around.

"We have a lot of young players who have so much potential, and that's the thing that excites me the most—the opportunities the young players got last year. Just looking at them, and I've met a few of them over the last seven days; you can just see them; they're kids playing against men, and that's our job as coaches and performance staff—to put meat on the bone. They'll be natural growth with age, but physically we want to make these boys battle hardened and ready for the season in front.

"If we do that, then who knows what we're sitting on. They're green, but it's raw talent, and at the age they're at, it's very exciting for us."

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