Former Hull FC head coach John Cartwright expressed his feelings of betrayal and disrespect after the club announced his departure without providing an explanation. The 60-year-old Australian coach was informed that his services would no longer be needed at the end of the current Betfred Super League season, with the club choosing to exercise a six-month termination clause in his contract. Despite his efforts to understand the reasoning behind this decision, Cartwright remains in the dark.
Cartwright's tenure at Hull FC began at the start of the 2025 campaign, during which he led the team to a seventh-place finish, their highest since 2020. The club has already initiated the process of finding a new coach for the 2027 season and currently sits ninth in the Super League standings with three wins and four losses from their first seven matches. Although Cartwright's departure has been announced, he remains committed to his duties and plans to continue performing his job to the best of his abilities. He emphasized the strong bond he shares with the players, which he believes cannot be broken.
The news of his exit came as a surprise to Cartwright, who expected a different outcome given the team's performance.