Hull FC are in week two of pre-season training.
Hull FC trio Davy Litten, Harvey Barron, and Will Kirby in pre-season training. (Image: Hull FC)
Hull FC entered week two of pre-season on Monday with some welcome returns to the training ground.
The squad, the youngest elements of which started pre-season last week, was joined by a senior contingent including the likes of Will Pryce and Jed Cartwright, who are back training after foot and pectoral injuries, with new signing Arthur Romano also present.
Elsewhere, head coach John Cartwright is back in training. Cartwright missed week one after the passing of his brother Cliff. But he was present alongside assistant coach Andy Last on Monday, who is also back in the Hull camp after his England duties.
The duo joined assistant coach Simon Grix, who observed the field sessions in week one alongside Francis Cummins and Gareth Ellis. Tom Bennett has been leading the club’s strength and conditioning. He is supported by Jon Clarke, who is continuing his consultancy role from his Australia base, while former staff member Paul Hatton is doing some work with the club once again. He has been training some of Hull’s injured players in the off-season – notably John Asiata (hamstring), Herman Ese’ese (Achilles), and Roman Dawson (ACL) – while running his business, ‘The Edge’.
Meanwhile, Dawson is back running now and closing in on his return. He deserves a clean bill of health now and some welcome minutes when the pre-season fixtures begin.
What happened in week one?
As reported by Hull Live prior to pre-season, week one was all about testing and getting to grips with training again – from ball drills to wrestling. The youngest first-teamers were all in alongside new signings Jake Arthur and Joe Phillips.
There were plenty of different fitness tests, on the field and in the gym, with health checks also done. One of the main tests was the Bronco, which sees players complete five circuits of a 20 m, 40 m, and 60 m and back run with no rest and as fast as they can. The total distance is 1.2km and an elite time is considered anything below four minutes and 30 seconds. Arthur is understood to have got the best time.
A new name in the senior squad
Hull haven’t announced the under-18s players making the step up to the senior squad for the 2026 season but one noticeable figure in training has been Jon Turner. The teenage prop, who turns 19 in March, has come through both the scholarship and academy systems. A former junior at Hull Wyke who stands over six feet tall, he’ll be looking to make an impression this winter alongside the first team.
What’s in store this week?
More of the same. Hull are taking a ‘walk before they can run’ approach to pre-season. They are keen to lay the groundwork before they step up their intensity when the full squad returns.
On that front, more players will return in the coming weeks. Liam Knight, for one, is understood to be due back at the end of the month, with more players set to return in the coming weeks as they recover from off-season surgeries and the like. All in all, the squad will build into pre-season, which is taking a more staggered stance compared to last year.
A first pre-season game at Wigan – Sunday 1 February – was confirmed on Friday, with another – Brad Fash’s testimonial match – to be finalised in due course. The 2026 season starts with Challenge Cup action on the weekend of February 6-7, with Super League following suit the week after.