Hull FC came away from their Challenge Cup loss to Leigh Leopards with a minor concern around star man John Asiata, as well as frustrations over their discpline.
Those frustrations were aired by head coach John Cartwright when he spoke post-match to BBC Radio Humberside, lamenting his side for making too many errors and conceding too many penalties.
That proved crucial in the 16-6 loss, which marked the club’s fourth consecutive defeat with their only victory coming in the opening round of the season.
Whilst results haven’t come in recent weeks, it’s fair to say that Hull FC have looked far better when John Asiata has played and despite the former Leigh man playing the most minutes he has all season, the Black and Whites still didn’t have enough to overcome the Leopards.
In fact, Asiata didn’t finish the match and when asked about his influence, John Cartwright revealed that it had been a bruising encounter for his loose forward but didn’t confirm any major injury, instead labelling him as a ‘bit wounded’.
“He just hasn’t had a lot of footy, this is his third game back and he’s a big guy so he needs a bit of time for match fitness,” Cartwright explained, adding: “We have given him rest at different stages. Today was the most that he’s played but he just copped a few whacks today, which he was able to carry on with, but it slowed him down.”
As part of a wider injury wrap, he again mentioned Asiata: “We’ve got nothing coming back in the short term. Johnny (Asiata) was a bit wounded but I think we’ve got an eight-day turnaround and I don’t think there was anything major there, so outside of that we’re okay.”
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Hull FC boss talks ailing attack
Hopefully for Hull FC it will just be a case of Asiata needing minutes managed more strictly as opposed to any injury, given how influential he can be to their ailing attack.
Cartwright addressed those attacking issues, explaining: “We’ve been struggling to score points since the season started so a 10-point lead towards the end was always going to be tough for us, the way we have been.
“For us, it’s discipline. Just too many errors and too many penalties.”
Explaining what disappointed him in terms of attack, Cartwright said: “We weren’t prepared to build a game. We got some decent ball and instead of playing the long game, we tried to score pretty much every time we got the ball.
“There was a little bit of confusion and a little bit of clunkiness I suppose for want of a better term.”
Asked if the blame lay more on his half-back pairing of Aidan Sezer and Jake Arthur, or on the lack of platform, Cartwright pointed to the latter: “They’re trying to do things on the back of no foundation, I suppose is the best way to put it.
“We’re not building a game or supplying them with a foundation. Then frustration leads to penalties and that compounds the problem, so I’m not just looking at those two.
“It’s a team thing that we’ve just got to cut our penalties and then errors might come down off the back of it.”
⏱️ 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟-𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘: Leigh Leopards 16-6 Hull FC
Defeat in the Fourth Round.
⚫️⚪️ #COYH | @Seafishukltd pic.twitter.com/dhkfhSHmoo
— Hull FC (@hullfcofficial) March 14, 2026
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