Hull FC half-back Aidan Sezer has assessed the club’s defeat to St Helens in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the club’s head coach, John Cartwright.
FC suffered a home defeat at the hands of Paul Rowley’s men and were kept try-less in the second half of a game that showed just how much the fans and the club felt about the departing boss.
Leading at half-time, Hull had control of the game, but an improved second-half effort from the Saints gave them the victory, potentially ending Cartwright’s tenure with a defeat.
Whilst Cartwright is still, at the time of writing, in charge of the club and will be until the end of the season, but after his comments in the media earlier this week many thought that this game will be his last in charge of the West Hull outfit.
As such, both the fans and players paid their respects to the 60-year-old at full-time, with fans staying behind at full-time to cheer their boss down the tunnel.
Sezer gave an interview to Sky Sports post-match, and revealed just how much of an effect Cartwright has had on both FC and him as a player.
Going as far as saying that he looked up to him as a “father figure”, Sezer was visibly emotional as he gave his overall thoughts on the game, and how the side came together for the head coach.
“I think overall, ever since ‘Carty’ came in, we’ve played with a lot of spirit and a lot of character,” the former Leeds and Huddersfield man said.
“As a team, you rub off on your coach and that’s how we’ve been playing. We’re down on troops, we’re trying really hard.
“No matter what happens within the club, outside the club, voices outside the club, in the club, we stick together and we stay as one.
“You’ve seen the spirit of the performance tonight, but in footy terms, we’re off. We’re just trying really hard and sometimes it’s not coming off for us.
“It would help to have your full team, but I guess most teams are understrength at this time of year, so back to the drawing board for us and we’ll train well through the week and hopefully come out next week and put in a good performance.”
Hull FC skipper Aidan Sezer talks “father figure” John Cartwright
On a personal level, Sezer in particular is one that hopes Cartwright does stay until the end of the season.
The two go back a long time, with the boss being Sezer’s first in the NRL, so the connection between the pair has been there for a while.
“I’ve come back to this country for Johnny Cartwright,” the 34-year-old revealed. “He was my first coach when I was a young kid at Gold Coast.
“For me, I just wanted to try really hard for him tonight and I think we did that as a team. As I said, we come up short, but there’s always next week.
Asked if he hopes the boss will see out the season, he said: “I hope so. I hope so. That’s being quite honest.
“I love playing under him. For me, he’s like a father figure. Hopefully, he’s here for the rest of the year.”
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