Salford Red Devils v Hull FC: We can do special things but need to weather storm, says John Cartwright

The Black and Whites are currently missing Will Pryce and John Asiata, two influential players who are set to be sidelined until August.

Cartwright, who is also without Jed Cartwright, Jordan Lane and Liam Watts among others, believes a healthy Hull can match any team but admits they may not get the chance to prove it if they fail to weather the current storm.

"A lot can happen," said the Airlie Birds boss ahead of Sunday's trip to Salford Red Devils.

"We've got a fair few important players not on the field at the moment and that can really hurt you and affect how you play and the results at the end of the day.

"We're fortunate that they're all going to be back between now and hopefully the next four or five weeks.

"When we are at full strength, I think we can do some special things. At the moment, they're fighting hard and we're working hard for our wins.

"We had a couple of really good wins – but key players are hard to replace. It's tough but on the bright side we're not far away.

"If we can just keep sneaking along, I'm very confident at full strength that we can cause some damage."

A clash with the embattled Red Devils provides Hull with the ideal opportunity to get back on track.

Salford sit rock bottom of Super League after seeing their squad dismantled in the first half of the campaign.

Paul Rowley's inexperienced team have conceded a whopping 602 points – an average of 43 per game – but Cartwright is not falling into the trap of underestimating the crisis club.

"It's a dangerous game," said the Australian, who represented Salford during his playing career.

"Anyone who goes there thinking it's going to be easy is in for a battle.

"The club has been to hell and back as far as survival is concerned and sometimes that can galvanise you as a group. We have to expect their best come Sunday.

"The week has been getting us ready both physically and mentally for a tough game. If you expect anything less, you'll get the same result as last week."