John Cartwright relives Hull FC 'abuse' as new boss outlines fresh approach

John Cartwright remembers Hull fans hurling abuse at him but will soon hope to have them singing his name.

The Aussie coach has arrived to try and transform the East Yorkshire club after an embarrassing season. Hull, who sacked Tony Smith in April, won just three games all year and finished in utter shambles. Ex-Gold Coast Titans chief Cartwright, appointed in May, could only watch on from afar as he finished up his duties as Brisbane Broncos assistant.

But the former New South Wales State of Origin second-row is now in situ ready to make his mark. As a player, he toured here in 1990 as part of the Kangaroos squad who defeated Great Britain in the Ashes. Cartwright recalled: “They were some of the greatest football times of my life. I remember playing here at Hull at The Boulevard.

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“It was probably one of the most brutal games I ever played in. I do actually remember it: walking out of the tunnel and the abuse from the crowd… Every game you played, although there were some blow-out scorelines, they were really physical. But the times you got to spend together as players were great. Some of those guys I toured with I’m still very best mates with back home.”

Cartwright, 57, knows how big a job it will be to turn Hull around after a series of humiliating wallopings and even being beaten twice by relegated London. But with new signings like Leigh captain John Asiata, Canberra and Kiwis ace Jordan Rapana, ex-Man of Steel Zak Hardaker and Aussie scrum-half Aidan Sezer, he feels it can be done. Cartwright said: “Perception is a big thing in any walk of life. We finished the year pretty poorly. We’re not shying away from it. We haven’t not spoken about it. But we won’t keep looking back.

“We have a new squad and a whole new feel around the place in terms of facilities. We’ve invested in the medical department just to keep players on the field as long as we possibly can. I think we’re better prepared to deal with injuries than last season. We’ll set some core values. It won’t be anything outlandish. It’ll be all about making the club a bigger and better place. No one wants to go back there [2024]. We have to get rid of that perception.”

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