Hull FC

‘Men against boys’ – Hull FC boss on ‘dark times’ as Salford score 10 tries

by
Sam Cook
September 14, 2024

Hull FC lost 58-4 to Salford Red Devils as they conceded ten tries for the second week running in a clash that head coach Simon Grix described as “men against boys”.

The only saving grace was that Hull FC did manage to get on the board, something that neither Leeds Rhinos nor Leigh Leopards managed to do on Friday night, but it was of little solace.

Such a heavy margin of defeat meant that the Black and Whites dropped to the foot of Super League, below fellow strugglers London on points difference, albeit the Broncos were still to play.

Defeat was expected but the manner of the loss will have been another insult to the FC fans who have suffered this season but some of that has been attributed to injuries, a fate that befell Hull once again today.

“We knew we were up against it before we kicked the ball I suppose and then everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” Simon Grix explained on Sky Sports post-match.

“There was not much of a bench to speak of after half an hour which made life hard for us but I’ve got no complaints.”

Hull FC aiming to put ‘dark times’ in rear-view mirror

Credit: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

The defeat marked the sixth occasion this season that Hull FC had conceded 50 or more points and took their tally conceded in Super League to 870, almost 33.5 points conceded per game.

Despite it being a familiar defeat, it’s never nice and that was the assessment of Simon Grix who conceded that Salford were simply dominant.

“It’s not nice to be on the end of that scoreline but it was men against boys for the most part, we couldn’t live with Salford,” Grix argued.

He did take solace in the team’s young backs, specifically Lewis Martin, Harvey Barron and Logan Moy, explaining: “As I keep saying, there are lessons in all of this, and they’re (young players) taking on a lot for us. They have to be the positive, but it’s a tough time, a dark time, and hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be looking back on this as an ugly memory.”

With the prospect of ‘winning’ Super League’s wooden spoon, Grix was blunt in his assessment once again.

“No-one wants to finish bottom,” Grix conceded.

“But I think the table just doesn’t lie, does it? At the end of the year you get what you deserve. We haven’t been good enough for a large part of this season, and seasons past, so there’s a lot for us to improve on.

“Going into next week, we’re losing a few blokes, they’re finishing up with us, and it’d be nice to send them out with a performance we can be proud of.”