Hull FC have completed the appointment of John Cartwright as their new head coach. The 58-year-old Australian has signed a three-year contract with the club and will join ahead of pre-season training for the 2025 season.
Cartwright, renowned as a disciplinarian and defence-based coach, has been on Hull’s radar for the last couple of weeks, with the club believed to have identified the Penrith-born coach after missing out on Paul Rowley. They have been sold by his vision to take the club forward, having first held talks with the Black and Whites over a fortnight ago. He is understood to have signed the deal on Monday, with an official announcement imminent.
Cartwright is presently an assistant coach for the NRL team Brisbane Broncos, where he assisted the team as a defensive coach reach the Grand Final last year after joining ahead of the 2020 season. Cartwright has coached for more than 20 years. He has been training with young British coach Lee Briers and head coach Kevin Walters.
Prior to that, Cartwright, who had been the first head coach of the Gold Coast Titans in 2007, was also an assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys during their 2015 Premiership victory. During his eight seasons with the Titans, he led them to their best-ever NRL result in third place in 2010. Hull was his first head coach appointment in more than ten years when he resigned in 2014.
Despite Cartwright’s coaching stints with the Sydney Roosters and Manly Sea Eagles, the club is certain they have the guy to lead them ahead. He played 187 games and won the 1991 Premiership with his hometown Penrith Panthers, where he also served as head coach under John Lang until the team’s next championship in 2003. Along with Director of Rugby Richie Myler, he was a forward for Australia and New South Wales and played for Salford Red Devils for a year in 1997. Currently, he is responsible for turning around Hull’s fortunes.
Cartwright will be Hull’s sixth coach of the 2020s after Lee Radford, Andy Last, Brett Hodgson, Tony Smith, and Simon Grix. The current interim head coach, who was a candidate for the role on a permanent basis, has been offered the chance to stay on as an assistant next season after building a strong relationship with the players this season.
The club, meanwhile, have already signed John Asiata, Oliver Holmes, and Zak Hardaker for the 2025 season and are expected to bring in more players both domestically and overseas as their recruitment drive continues.
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