Aussie coach downcast as Hull’s SL play-off hopes end
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Hull’s Super League season has ended in disappointment with a 26-22 loss to Catalans in the final game of the regular season.
John Cartwright’s men needed a win to have any chance of snatching sixth spot from Wakefield and the Australian could not hide his frustration.
“I’m disappointed for a lot of reasons, we didn’t want to finish the year in that way,” said Cartwright, the former Brisbane Broncos assistant coach.
“It was a funny game to prepare for, whether we won or lost the chances were it was probably going to be over for us anyway.
“Probably the worst thing that happened to us was scoring that early try. We didn’t have to do much work for the try and from that moment on they played really well, they hardly made an error.
“It was a game we expected to win and really wanted to win.
“We are a bit disorganised at the moment because of injuries. It typified our season but we never stopped. There were some really curious decisions which left me shaking my head.”
Catalans fullback Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet scored two tries and kicked three conversions in his side’s win as the visitors also touched down through ex-Canberra Raider Nick Cotric, Tommy Makinson and former Bulldog and Melbourne Storm star Reimis Smith.
Zak Hardaker, who made 11 appearances for the Penrith Panthers while on loan in 2016, converted three of Hull’s tries.
Coach Joel Tomkins felt his players had coped well with the game, particularly with former Sydney Rooster Luke Keary sent to the sin bin late in the first half.
He admitted: “It was stressful. I don’t think either side played particularly well if you look at the game as a whole. The attitude and effort for us was outstanding.”
On Keary’s yellow card, he added: “It’s tough enough defending against Hull with 13 let alone 12. What Luke did really well was he came back onto the field and he gave us massive amounts of energy.
“They dominated us with field position and possession but we competed and defended well.”
Meanwhile, Hull KR clinched their first League Leaders’ Shield after a pressure-filled 28-20 win over Warrington in their final game of the regular season, also on Thursday.
PA
