Hull FC were beaten badly by the Leigh Leopards on Saturday afternoon as they conceded nine tries and 54 points.
The manner of the defeat saw the Black and Whites slip behind Leigh Leopards on points difference after tries from Umyla Hanley, Josh Charnley, Rob Mulhern, Ben McNamara, Matt Moylan and braces for both Oliver Holmes and Ricky Leutele.
There were very few positives for the Black and Whites but one player who stood out was fullback Tex Hoy who for the first time this season started at fullback replacing the injured Jack Walker.
Hull FC the bright spark on a dark day
Credit: Imago Images
Hoy has had a funny season but in a difficult game for the Black and Whites, he was the positive in the performance.
He scored Hull FC’s only try which was taken really well but more importantly he denied Leigh a number of tries to make the score more respectable.
He also made a sensational break in the second half that was Hull FC’s best attacking moment of the second half.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Jon Wells felt that Hoy sent Head Coach Tony Smith a message after leaving him out recently.
He said: “Tex Hoy sending Tony Smith a message there, ‘leave me out at your peril.'”
Why Hoy was left out
Hoy was surprisingly left out against the London Broncos in Round Three with Jack Walker at fullback, Tony Smith elected to start Morgan Smith and Fa’amanu Brown in the halves with young Jack Charles on the bench.
After the game, Smith explained the decision.
Speaking to the press after the match, Tony Smith said on the club’s website: “Just team selection, and just, combinations and… yeah, it was just and opportunity for somebody else to show what they can do in the half-back position. It’s probably not Tex’s preferred position, in the half-back position, and Jack [Charles] has been doing alright at fullback.
“That was a week where we thought we’d have a look at the other half-back combinations.
“Morgan [Smith] stayed at the left side, that he was very good at last week, and then Nu [Brown] came out to the right side, Danny Houghton came back in.”
Hoy was selected to play as stand-off against Warrington Wolves, but his side were defeated 36-10.
