Hull FC boss sends message to Sam Burgess amid Warrington Wolves criticism

Hull FC boss John Cartwright has jumped to the defence of his Warrington Wolves counterpart Sam Burgess following the recent criticism of his side.

Cartwright takes his Hull side to the Halliwell Jones Stadium for the second time this season on Saturday and having won there back in April, he’ll be looking to claim another result over the Wolves in order to strengthen FC’s play-off push. An away win would certainly serve to pile the misery on Burgess and Warrington, though, with the Cheshire outfit in a hole at present.

Burgess’ side sit eighth in the table at present, five points adrift of the play-off picture. And, after picking up one win from their last six Super League games, it’s fair to say they simply have to respond this week against a Black and Whites missing key men such as John Asiata and Will Pryce.

A poor performance and another defeat will only add to the pressure Burgess and the club currently finds themselves under, but Cartwright has pointed to the Challenge Cup final, which the Wire were just a couple of minutes away from winning against league leaders Hull KR.

‘Too quick to judge’ – Hull FC boss issues Sam Burgess verdict

“He’s been through a lot, Sam, as a player and as a coach, he did a lot of time with Wayne Bennett at Souths,” Cartwright said about the Warrington boss.

“He’ll know it’s just about being consistent. You coach long enough, you’re going to have the highs and the lows and sometimes we’re a bit too quick to judge.

“Two weeks ago he was a couple of minutes away from winning the Challenge Cup final against all the odds. He’ll know what his team is capable of and what he needs to do to get there.”

He added ahead of Saturday’s clash: “They’re at home and they don’t want to let their fans down. Sam always took a lot of pride in his performance as a player and he’ll be no different as a coach. I’m sure they’ll be organised through the week.

“The hangover from the Challenge Cup is probably over for them now and there’s a realisation that they probably need to start winning.”