Hull FC have their eyes on a spot in Super League’s top four as they look to take the next step in their progression under John Cartwright. That’s according to vice captain John Asiata, who made a big impact on and off the field during his first season with the Black and Whites.
Asiata struggled with hamstring injuries in 2025 and went under the knife at the back end of the year in an attempt to resolve that issue. As such, the forward has missed a chunk of pre-season so far, but he’ll be doing all he can to be ready in time for the new season, which is now just six weeks away.
And, he’ll be hoping to have an even bigger say on Hull’s fortunes in 2026, with the Black and Whites recruiting to try and force their way into the play-off picture. The likes of Sam Lisone, Joe Batchelor and James Bell are proven Super League talents, while Jake Arthur will be expected to dovetail alongside Aidan Sezer in the halves.
Indeed, optimism is high at the MKM Stadium at present, and Asiata has highlighted just that with his expectations heading into the new season.
“My goal never changes, I believe we can do something special,” Asiata said. “I have two more years with the club and I want to try and make sure we can do something special before those two years are done.
“Our aim is to not be out of the six. Our aim is to be in the top four really and with the way we’ve recruited and the bringing in of Paul Hatton again to oversee our training, there’s a big difference in the way we’ve trained.”
Giving his verdict on the Hull FC recruitment, Asiata added: “I’m pretty happy with what we did. Last year one of our problems was our depth wasn’t the greatest in Super League and the people that we’ve brought in are not just players on the fringe, they’re week in week out starters.
“I know James Bell finished the year really strong so he’s going to be a big one for us in the middle. I think we’ve recruited really well in regards to where we needed to improve but also having that experience now of those younger boys who played a lot this year, they’re going to take their game to another level and the competition of training hard and competing for spots will be a lot better.
“Me and James Bell played a couple of times together at Leigh. I love the way he plays. I wouldn’t say we’re too similar but he’s got a bit in his game that I really love and it’ll free me up to run more. James is going to keep me on my toes and that’s what I want, I want someone pushing me to be the best that I can be.
“If you don’t have anyone pushing you, you’ll never get better. I’m 32 now and I’m going into season 13, I’ve been in the game a long time but there’s still a lot of things I can.”
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