John Cartwright was full of praise for his Hull FC young guns after watching his side beat Warrington Wolves 34-2 on Saturday night.
The Black and Whites were missing 12 first-teamers through either suspension or injury but they scored six tries at the MKM Stadium to put Warrington to the sword and keep their play-off hopes alive going into the final round.
Lewis Martin scored the first before Denive Balmforth, Aidan Sezer and Harvey Barron touched down before the break. Jordan Lane and Zak Hardaker got themselves over in the second half to hammer home Hull’s dominance.
The night belonged to the likes of Callum Kemp, Logan Moy, Matty Laidlaw, Balmforth and Will Gardiner, though, who stepped up to the plate and more than delivered.
“It was a performance that we’ve been trying to put on at home for a while,” Cartwright said after the game. “They worked really hard defensively and I think that was the key.
“It was all Warrington early, but we defended our line strong and the enthusiasm of youth, it’s hard to put a figure on it. They were excited about playing. I think we had 11 local Hull boys playing out of the 17.
“When we announced the young fellas were going to get a crack, there was a really good feel around training all week, and again, the most pleasing thing was that we held tight on our own try line for long periods of time and right throughout the 80 minutes. It was nice.
“It was a really good way to send our fans home. We’ve been threatening that for a while but that was probably our best and most complete home performance this year.”
He added: “It was only about coming here and winning. (Hull KR) were never going to do us any favours. We haven’t focused on that or spoken about that this week, and it’s not going to alter how we attack the game next week.
“I’ve seen lots of sides who finish on the high, and with the squad that we have and the youth we have, belief is a big thing and the only way you get belief is by going out and winning games. Whatever happens next week, we want to finish on a high.”
Hull FC boss on Sam Eseh
Hull FC picked up another injury in the game as Sam Eseh failed a HIA in the first half after being caught with a high shot from Lachlan Fitzgibbon
“He’s okay now,” Cartwright said. “We all saw it – he copped a bit of a high one. He didn’t pass his test. That’s him for the season.”
Asked on Eseh’s future, with Hull making it clear earlier in the season that they would like to sign him, Cartwright added: “It was put to bed. Both parties were keen to make it happen, but negotiations didn’t pan out. We’ve had to recruit around him unfortunately.”
