Away at Huddersfield last night, Hull FC looked headed for one of their best results of the season as they led 10-0 at halftime thanks to tries from Jack Walker and Connor Wynne.
They also went on to lead 16-6 in the second half despite the sin binning of Will Smith but the Black and Whites really struggled to get a foothold in the contest in the second half as Huddersfield mounted a terrific fight back.
Eventually a Danny Levi try coupled with a Will Pryce goal made it 18-16 late on before a Levi second took the Giants out to a 22-16 win.
After the game, Brett Hodgson reflected on the defeat when speaking to the Hull FC website noting the effort of his players but also how the sin binning and a few harsh calls worked against them on the day: “I thought the effort was very good, but the sin-bin before half-time for Will Smith, plus the way we started the second-half, was key; we didn’t come out with the right intend and they lifted their game at that time. I think that’s where the game was lost.
“It’s a tough result to take.
“Effort was good, and losing two of our middles didn’t help us; that contributed to us conceding two soft tries at the end of the game.
“Some of the decisions to penalise us were very harsh – it’s not often I say that. But we have to rise above that and bounce back and help this galvanize us.
“We didn’t apply enough pressure in the first-half and we didn’t capitalise on a few opportunities. We didn’t get that many chances in either half in fairness.
“It’s a difficult way to lose it right at the end of the game, but we’re a much tighter group after this last two weeks and we need to use this result to help push us on.”
It means the winner of Salford and Leeds will be able to take a lead on them in the table as the race for sixth spot really hots up.
You can read his full thoughts here.
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