John Cartwright has reflected on his side’s gritty victory over Wakefield Trinity on Friday evening.
The Black & Whites came from behind late in the game to down Dayrl Powell’s side and continue their impressive start to the 2025 campaign.
Tries from Herman Ese’ese, Ed Chamberlain and Lewis Martin were enough to get Hull over the line for the two points on the road in a strong defensive display in West Yorkshire.
Speaking after the match, Cartwright said: “That was a bit of a dangerous game for us. I think they (Wakefield) are a very good side. They’ve been playing really well. They’ve won their last two, and they had a real parochial crowd behind them.
“A big one for us was coming back down from that high last week. It can be hard sometimes after such an emotional game to get yourself ready and play. It wasn’t clinical; it was very physical. Both sides really ripped into each other, and I was really happy with the fact that they came out 100 miles an hour and we gave up a try, but we were able to repel it and get one of our own back and then ice the game in the back end. That was really pleasing.”
He added: “We lost Cade, and then we lost Jed. That was our whole right edge that had to change. Jordan Rapana played at six, and Tom Briscoe changed sides of the field. We had a lot of changing of structure, I suppose, and when you lose a key member of your attack, you’ve got to change things on the run.
“They did that. They looked clunky at times, but I’ll put that down to Wakefield’s defence. I thought their defence was rushing in and putting pressure on us.
“But our leaders are doing their leading. Aidan again, in the second half, when things were tough, and with Custy not there and Jed not there, they form a pretty big part of how we attack, and when it wasn’t happening, Aidan just decided to run the ball.
“I thought it was a scrappy game, but we came up with a really good structure try when Ed went through to set the win up. I’m really happy with that—you’ve got to win in all sorts of ways, and sometimes it’s pretty, and sometimes it’s not pretty.”
Captain Aidan Sezer put in another influential display for the Airie Birds, with Cartwright praising the efforts of his skipper once more.
“That’s what the good ones do in the clutch situation. We didn’t look like we were breaking them a lot. I thought we varied things up a little bit. They had a real rushing style of defence, which, without Custy there and not a lot of practice around the guys who were in those positions, made it really hard for us.
“They were really aggressive with everything they did. But when the scoreboard is close, it only takes one, and he iced it.
“That’s Aidan. He’s towards the back end of his career now, but I know him, and he’s a super competitor. He wants to win something; he’s not here to make up the numbers.
“He was very keen to come to Hull. We had several conversations when I got the job here, and I knew what I was getting. He’s a good competitor, he’s got a good kicking game, and he’s a good team man.
“He’s really enjoying the company of the players. He’s a real father figure to a lot of the young boys, and he’s just popular within the group. He’s not shy to pull someone up either if he thinks they are doing something wrong, and that’s what you want in a leader.”
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