Jake Connor has become a player almost as infamous as he is famous in the UK rugby league world. ‘The Snake’ has developed a reputation for winding up opponents but also getting his own side in bother.
This was one of the main reasons that Hull FC convinced themselves into thinking he wasn’t good enough despite the playmaker providing the majority of the try assists in the season before he left for Huddersfield Giants.
But perhaps, FC felt themselves vindicated when Jake Connor started to bring out his old nasty habits again and lose his way under the previous head coach of Huddersfield Giants, Ian Watson.
Watson, however, is a thing of the past at the Giants and now new coach Luke Robinson is eager to find Connor’s best form in West Yorkshire. He knows what Connor needs to work on and believes his strong relationship with the 29-year-old can bear fruit.
“He’s had a really good game, he’s played well the last two weeks has Jake. He’s an exceptional talent,” Robinson said in his press conference this week. “We all know what Jake’s good at. We all know what Jake needs to reign in.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Jake because he’s the Siddal coach and I spend my life at Siddal because I coach the under-13s and all three of my boys play there, so I’ve pretty much spent my life there.
“With Jake as the head coach at Siddal, it means we pretty much spend a lot of time with each other, me and Jake, so I’ve never felt like I can’t be honest with him and tell him what he needs to work on and what he needs to improve on. I think you can see that the relationship is working and he’s working really hard to try his hardest.”
