HULL FC are facing a back-row injury crisis after suffering three fresh blows before and during their Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Hull KR.
Brad Fash was absent while Jordan Lane came off in the first half and Ed Chamberlain in the second.
Head coach John Cartwright said that Lane had broken his arm and will now be out long-term.
Fash tore a calf muscle the day before the game while Chamberlain has “twisted a knee”, with the pair to be assessed on Monday to determine the severity of their injuries.
“We’ve got some injuries in the back row which is really concerning. All our back-rowers are on the sideline,” said Cartwright, who has son Jed out with a hamstring issue and Oliver Holmes sidelined by a knee problem.
“It (recruitment) is something we’ll have to look at because our stocks are really low.”
Hull came into the derby optimistic of competing with their city rivals after a revival under Cartwright, but were ultimately well beaten.
“I’m really disappointed with how we handled the first half,” said the coach.
“I thought we competed physically and in the first 20-25 minutes we forced errors, but unfortunately we backed up those errors.
“We didn’t really give ourselves a chance to play football at their end of the field as we made some silly schoolboy errors.
“Then they got a bit of momentum and they’re leading the comp and undefeated for a reason.
“They scored a good try in the corner and I thought the try off a kick was a big turning point in the game. I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. It just landed in no man’s land and they got a good bounce.
“At 12-0 all momentum was with them and they made us pay, they got the try just before half-time and 18-0 was always going to be tough task.
“In the second half we had good patches, we knew we had to play football to break them down and we threatened a lot.
“It was unfortunate that we gave up a couple of tries early in the second half and it was going to be too hard.
“We can take a lot of out of it. They (Hull KR) are the benchmark team in the comp and the players will realise they’re not that far away.”
Hull gave a debut to Will Pryce at halfback and Cartwright said: “I thought he was great.
“He really challenged, he got the ball in his hands. He only had a 20-minute session with the team yesterday so he handled himself well.
Hull FC face back-row injury crisis after three fresh blows
Stephen Ibbetson 05/04/2025
HULL FC are facing a back-row injury crisis after suffering three fresh blows before and during their Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat to Hull KR.
Brad Fash was absent while Jordan Lane came off in the first half and Ed Chamberlain in the second.
Head coach John Cartwright said that Lane had broken his arm and will now be out long-term.
Fash tore a calf muscle the day before the game while Chamberlain has “twisted a knee”, with the pair to be assessed on Monday to determine the severity of their injuries.
“We’ve got some injuries in the back row which is really concerning. All our back-rowers are on the sideline,” said Cartwright, who has son Jed out with a hamstring issue and Oliver Holmes sidelined by a knee problem.
“It (recruitment) is something we’ll have to look at because our stocks are really low.”
Hull came into the derby optimistic of competing with their city rivals after a revival under Cartwright, but were ultimately well beaten.
“I’m really disappointed with how we handled the first half,” said the coach.
“I thought we competed physically and in the first 20-25 minutes we forced errors, but unfortunately we backed up those errors.
“We didn’t really give ourselves a chance to play football at their end of the field as we made some silly schoolboy errors.
“Then they got a bit of momentum and they’re leading the comp and undefeated for a reason.
“They scored a good try in the corner and I thought the try off a kick was a big turning point in the game. I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. It just landed in no man’s land and they got a good bounce.
“At 12-0 all momentum was with them and they made us pay, they got the try just before half-time and 18-0 was always going to be tough task.
“In the second half we had good patches, we knew we had to play football to break them down and we threatened a lot.
“It was unfortunate that we gave up a couple of tries early in the second half and it was going to be too hard.
“We can take a lot of out of it. They (Hull KR) are the benchmark team in the comp and the players will realise they’re not that far away.”
Hull gave a debut to Will Pryce at halfback and Cartwright said: “I thought he was great.
“He really challenged, he got the ball in his hands. He only had a 20-minute session with the team yesterday so he handled himself well.
“He will be a huge asset for the club.”
