Hull FC chief executive Richie Myler has defended the club’s handling of John Cartwright’s departure after confirming Steve McNamara will take over as head coach in 2027.
Despite handing Cartwright a three-year contract that was intended to run until the end of the 2027 Super League season, Hull informed the Australian that his deal would instead conclude at the end of 2026.
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 April 7 that Cartwright would be leaving at the end of the Betfred Super League season. Six days later, the head coach delivered 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 then took charge of Hull FC’s clash with Hull KR against St Helens, a 24-14 home defeat, before leaving the pitch to a standing ovation. Players followed him down the tunnel in scenes that felt like both a show of solidarity and a farewell.
Shortly afterwards, Hull confirmed Cartwright would no longer carry out head coach duties, although he remains an employee of the club. McNamara was then confirmed as Hull’s long-term successor.
Myler says he wanted to offer supporters “clarity” on the situation and has rejected claims that Cartwright was informed of the club’s decision via email.
According to Myler, that narrative is “not strictly true”, with the chief executive instead pointing 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 from the Betfred Super League clash between Hull and St Helens.
“Me and John had a conversation on the Monday about the derby in his office. It was a short conversation that lasted no longer than 10 minutes,” Myler said.
“My understanding of that conversation was clear. John recalled that slightly differently and that has led to the events that have come out.
“From that meeting, the conversation was that, from 2027, the club is going to go in a different direction.
“He still had the full support of us for 2026. The intent of that was that he heard it from me and the board and not from a newspaper or an article speculating for months about who was coming in to replace him without him knowing that.
“Maybe it is a failure from me that I didn’t deliver that message as clearly as John needed it.
“Following that, I had a conversation with Andrew (Thirkill) after that meeting, who then had an hour phone call with John and reiterated the points and the situation we were in and how we were still fully committed to him for 2026.
“Part of John’s contract was that we had to inform him in writing about the decision. There has been some narrative about informing him via email. That is not strictly true.”
McNamara ‘too big to miss’
Addressing the timing of the decision, Myler said Hull felt they could not afford to delay their move amid a volatile Super League coaching market – particularly with McNamara’s availability.
“The timing of it is linked to Steve McNamara. Me and Steve had a conversation were things were very clearly progressing,” he added.
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John Cartwright reacts to the news that he has been let go by Hull FC at the end of 2026 and reveals what is occurring behind the scenes.
“It wasn’t a done deal because he was still under contract with Warrington and we had that situation to sort out.
“We were on the same page that this was happening subject to fine-tuning.
“I was going away and I thought, if John finds out this news while I am away.
“Bear in mind, at this point John does not know about Steve because I didn’t tell him because I didn’t think it was the right thing to do. He was just aware it was somebody else.
“It all happened very quickly. I know Steve’s strengths and what he can do for an organisation, I witnessed it at Catalans.
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Highlights from the Betfred Super League Rivals Round clash between Hull KR and Hull FC.
“The speed in which it happened was down to circumstance. If you look at the market of English coaches at the moment, Huddersfield let Luke Robinson go, you have the situation with Brad Arthur at Leeds, then the big and obvious one is that Willie Peters is leaving Hull KR.
“I am sat there thinking that we need a bit more and I know there is a guy in an assistant role at Warrington. I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.
“Let’s fast forward 12 months and McNamara is head coach of Hull KR and I had an opportunity that I didn’t take, I think we would be having a different conversation because I think our fanbase would be extremely annoyed.
“I didn’t want to miss an opportunity. The timeline unfortunately affected John’s position but our intention was to be honest with him.
“With the way he has responded to that news, we have had to act accordingly.”
2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
- Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6.30pm UK (Sky Sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
