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John Cartwright makes salary cap admission after Hull FC sign Will Pryce

Hull FC have massively strengthened their squad with the signing of Will Pryce and head coach John Cartwright has spoken on the move, including the Englishman’s chances of debuting against Hull KR this weekend, and how the signing impacts the club’s salary cap.

Pryce’s move to Hull FC was finally confirmed on Monday with Serious About Rugby League having reported the Black and Whites’ move prior to that and John Cartwright has since spoken about the quick nature of the deal.

With Hull FC set to host Hull KR on Saturday in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, a first meeting between the sides in the competition since 1986, representatives from both sides gathered at a media event where Cartwright spoke to Serious About Rugby League to discuss all things Will Pryce.

“We were expecting the deal to be done for three years from next year but it sort of panned out that he was going to be available for the rest of this year,” the Hull FC boss confirmed, adding: “We had cap space and Richie was straight onto it.”

How Hull FC could look vs Hull KR amid potential Will Pryce debut

The Airlie Birds are currently flying high in second place in Super League but the addition of Pryce is sure to add some excitement to their attack with the 22-year-old having proven to be an X-factor player whilst at Huddersfield Giants previously.

Cartwright thinks he’ll be even better now, stating: “To add the type of player he is, he’s English, he’s had two years in the NRL, two full pre-seasons at a really young age, it’s a really good signing now and for the future.”

John Cartwright makes salary cap admission after Hull FC sign Will Pryce

The Australian also conceded that the timing of the deal play into the club’s hands, just ahead of a huge game when they will be without their makeshift six Cade Cust after he failed a HIA, with Pryce set to land in the country in Wednesday and possibly even play on Saturday.

“We’ve been looking for a running number six,” Cartwright conceded, adding: “Cade came to us as a number 14 type player and he’s done a fantastic job for us in the halves but it’s coincided with him not being available this week.

“Will’s going to get here through the week and a couple of the back up boys have been injured in Callum Kemp and Jack Charles, we’re fortunate that it’s happened this week but we won’t put him at risk.

“We’ll make sure he’s OK when he gets here. He’s got to do some testing and if everything pans out OK we’ll up with a side on Friday.”

The 22-year-old has signed a three-and-a-half year deal, ensuring his future at the MKM Stadium until at least the end of the 2028 season. He’s the latest in a string of mid-season signings the club have made with Liam Knight and Liam Watts both arriving earlier this year but there might not be much scope for many more.

“It’ll probably take us up close (to the salary cap) but I think we still have a little bit of wriggle room there”, Cartwright confirmed before again praising the club’s recruitment department.

He added: “I’m glad we’ve been a bit patient, we had cap space but we didn’t jump right in. We’ve certainly shored up the squad for next year and a lot of our players we signed this year came to us reasonably late, we didn’t rush in and make rash decisions, we kept our powder dry and I’m really happy we’ve done that because it’s enabled us to bring in a Will Pryce right now.”

Was Will Pryce hard done by in the NRL?

Pryce arrives back in England after a season and a quarter Down Under and whilst game time was hard to come by, the experience he will have gained and the lessons learned from the elite coaches and players he was surrounded with making him an electrifying prospect in Super League.

He headed to the NRL as one of Super League’s hottest properties and showed up well on the few occasions he earned first team reps whilst also dominating in the New South Wales Cup, earning himself a spot in the comp’s Team of the Year last season.

The Hull FC boss was understandably asked about Pryce’s time Down Under with Cartwright confirming he saw a lot of the young Englishman.

He explained: “I watched him in the reserve grade because Jed was playing at Newcastle at the time. He was stuck behind a few experienced players in front of him.

“The games I saw in the New South Wales Cup he was a very dominant player. It’s a cut throat business over there, it’s hard to break into and his first game in the NRL he was fantastic and did really well.

“I can’t really comment as to why he didn’t establish a first grade spot over there but all I know is in those key positions in the halves, if your side isn’t winning that’s the position they generally look to fix. He probably didn’t establish himself like he would have wanted but if you dont get a good stretch of time in those positions it’s hard to claim the spot and they made a change pretty early.”

All eyes will be on Saturday’s teamsheet to see if Pryce does get the nod to debut in the Hull derby.

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