Hull FC chief executive Richie Myler has defended the club’s response to John Cartwright’s departure after confirming Steve McNamara will take over as manager in 2027.
Despite handing Cartwright a three-year contract that was set to run until the end of the 2027 Super League season, Hull informed the Australian that his contract would end at the end of 2026 instead.
The club’s preference was for Cartwright to remain in charge for the remainder of the current campaign before McNamara takes over as head coach of his hometown club in 2027.
Hull announced on 7 April that Cartwright would leave at the end of the Betfred Super League season. Six days later, the manager gave an explosive press conference in which he said he felt “betrayed” and “disrespected”, claiming he had not been given a reason for the decision.
Cartwright took charge of Hull FC’s clash between Hull KR and St Helens, leaving the pitch to a standing ovation after his side lost 24-14 at home. The players followed him down the tunnel in a scene that felt like both a show of solidarity and a farewell.
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Shortly afterwards, Hull confirmed that Cartwright would remain an employee of the club but would no longer carry out managerial duties. McNamara has been confirmed as Hull’s long-term successor.
Myler said he wanted to provide supporters with “clarity” about the situation and rejected Cartwright’s claim that he was informed of the club’s decision via email.
According to Myler, the story is “strictly untrue”. Instead, the CEO pointed to a face-to-face conversation that took place in Cartwright’s office on the Monday before the Hull derby.
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Highlights of the Betfred Super League clash between Hull and St Helens.
“Me and John had a chat about the derby in his office on Monday. It was a short conversation, lasting less than 10 minutes,” Myler said.
“My understanding of that conversation was clear. John recalled it slightly differently and it led to the events from which it came.”
“The conversation at that meeting was that from 2027 the club would go in a different direction.
“He still has our full support in 2026. The intention was that he would hear this from me and the board, not from newspapers or articles speculating for months about who would replace him without his knowledge.
“Maybe it was my failure to convey the message John needed clearly.
“After that, I spoke to Andrew (Thirkill) after that meeting, and he spent an hour on the phone with John reiterating the points and the situation we were in and how we were still fully committed to him in 2026.
“Part of John’s contract was that we had to inform him of the decision in writing. There was some talk about informing him via email. That’s not strictly true.”
McNamara: ‘Too big to miss’
Commenting on the timing of the decision, Myler said Hull felt they could not afford to delay the move amid an unstable Super League coaching market, particularly with McNamara’s availability.
“That period was connected to Steve McNamara. Me and Steve had a conversation and things were going very clearly,” he added.
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“It wasn’t a done deal because he was still under contract at Warrington and we had to sort out that situation.
“We agreed that this was happening with some fine tuning.
“I was leaving, and I thought what if John found out about this while I was gone?
“Keep in mind, at this point John doesn’t know about Steve because I didn’t tell him because I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. He just knew it was someone else.
“It all happened very quickly. I know Steve’s strengths and what he can do for the organization. I saw that in Catalonia.
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Highlights from the Betfred Super League Rivals Round clash between Hull KR and Hull FC.
“The speed at which that happened depended on the circumstances. If you look at the current English coaching market, you have Huddersfield dropping Luke Robinson, you have Brad Arthur at Leeds, and the biggest and most obvious one is Willie Peters leaving Hull KR.”
“I was sitting there thinking we needed a bit more and I know we have someone in Warrington who can act as an assistant and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.
“Fast forward 12 months and McNamara is the manager of Hull KR and I’ve had opportunities I didn’t take. I think we’ll be having different conversations because I think our fan base will be extremely annoyed.”
“I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Unfortunately, the schedule affected John’s location, but our intention was to be honest with him.
“The way he reacted to that news forced us to act accordingly.”
2026 Super League – Key dates and things to watch out for
- Paris Super League: Saturday June 6th: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris)6:30 PM in the UK (sky sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4th – July 5th
- Rival Round Reversal: July 23rd – July 26th
- Elimination playoffs: September 19th – September 20th
- playoff semifinals: September 26 ~ September 27
- Grand Finals: October 3, Old Trafford.
sky sports We will be broadcasting live again every Super League match this season. Two matches from each round will be broadcast exclusively live, while the remaining five matches will be shown weekly on Sky Sports+.
