Hull FC hammered as Simon Grix offers St Helens loss response

Hull FC interim head coach Simon Grix admitted St Helens were simply too good for his young side to deal with on Saturday. The Black and Whites were well beaten on Saturday afternoon as St Helens, who had lost their previous five, turned on the style to win 46-4 at the MKM Stadium.

Hull managed to keep their visitors at arm’s reach for the first 26 minutes of the contest, but once Lewis Dodd got over the line the floodgates opened, with the Saints eventually running in eight tries in East Yorkshire. Hull were missing a host of senior first-team members with Herman Ese’ese, Liam Sutcliffe, Ligi Sao and King Vuniyayawa dropping out of the fold through either injury or suspension.

The quartet joined a list of absentees that already included the likes of Jack Ashworth, Danny Houghton and Jed Cartwright who would have been involved if not through injury. Grix spoke with realism after the game then, as he reflected on the loss, but he also believes Hull FC could have done more to help themselves against Paul Wellens’ resurgent side.

“We all knew what we had available to us and the position Saints are in getting a few back,” Grix said after the game. “We knew they’d be a pretty big challenge for us.

“I thought the scoreline blew out disappointingly. We were obviously deserved losers but at 30 minutes to be 0-0 and then to get a hiding like that is disappointing. I thought their pack was too much for us, for a lot middles out there who aren’t used to it.

“They had a bit of class, Daz Clark was just too good and when the game got quick, he kept it quick. We made a few poor choices, some individuals in there.

“I don’t mean tackle selection or whatever just poor ones when you’re absolutely gone. There’s easy choices and tough choices, more often than not you have to make the tough choice but we made a couple of easy ones.

“I don’t want to be super negative because I did say if we judge them just on the score alone we’re going to be like this. Disappointing one to take with the collapse element. I don’t think they threw the towel in effort wise but we made really poor choices and contacts. Disappointing but a lot of young blokes out there and even though it’s learning in a loss, it’s learning nonetheless.”