JOHN CARTWRIGHT has said that Liam Knight’s “heart and head” weren’t committed to staying at Hull FC.
The prop has been released from his contract on compassionate grounds to return to Australia.
Knight joined the club last March from South Sydney Rabbitohs and made 22 appearances for the Black and Whites, including all three of their opening Super League fixtures.
“It’s been ongoing with Liam for a while,” explained head coach Cartwright.
“I’ve been chatting to him since Christmas time and he hasn’t been in a good place mentally, just being away from home.
“We put a timeline on it and we spoke after the game last week against Wigan and I could see his heart and head was not over here.
“I fully understand where he’s coming from but Liam at his best makes us a stronger team.”
Knight initially signed a deal only for last season, before penning a one-year extension in July.
“That was a decision he had to make, whether he felt like he could give his best to the team and want to be here,” Cartwright continued.
“He was honest in the end. His heart and his head wasn’t around spending the full season here and it was a pretty easy decision in the end.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, if your heart’s not in it, it’s too tough a game to play.
“We got a few wounded in the middle so we decided pretty much after the Wigan game that if we could get another game out of him, (for him to) try to go out on a winning note, and then we get troops back the following week.
“He did that but we didn’t get the win (Hull lost 17-16 to York Knights) unfortunately.”