“Not good enough” – Hull FC coach Andy Last fumes over “disgraceful” clock error in Wigan Warriors defeat

Hull FC interim boss Andy Last has made his feelings very clear on the clock malfunction in yesterday’s defeat to Wigan Warriors.

The Black and Whites led the game against Super League’s form side until the 73rd minute, where Harry Smith sealed the win with a try.

Trailing by four points, the home side did all they could to get back into the lead, but they were significantly hampered after not knowing how much time was left in the match.

That is because, with around five to go, the clock in the ground stopped working, meaning players were clueless as to how long they had to seal a comeback.

As a result, the game ended in very underwhelming fashion, with a simple carry from Jed Cartwright turning out to be the last play, when FC believed they still should have had time for one more roll of the dice.

This type of error is becoming more and more prominent in Super League, and as Last referred to post-match, it’s not the first time it has happened to Hull in recent weeks.

Asked what his thoughts on the malfunction were, he said: “It’s disgraceful in my opinion. That’s the second time in the space of a month – we played Warrington away, and just before half-time, the clock goes off.

“We think that we’ve got a full set of six, and then within two play-the-balls the game gets called.

“Today, we get told that there’s 25 seconds on the clock. We pass the ball one play, and the game gets called off. That shouldn’t be happening.”

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Hull FC coach Andy Last blasts “disgraceful” clock malfunction

He continued: “It’s not good enough for us as a game. The clock’s a massive part of the game. The players use the clock during the game to make decisions.

“The fact the clock once again has gone off, that’s something that we really need to have a good look at, and we can’t have that.”

Last said that the communication from the officials could have been improved, with them being the ones the players are relying on if there is no clock available.

He said: “You’re asking the ref, he says this. You ask the fourth official, he says that.

“That just shouldn’t happen. I think it’s a really bad look for the game, and it’s something that has happened on a consistent basis now.”

Whilst we will never find out if they would have snatched the win had the clock been present, the fact is Hull were denied that chance, and Last referred to previous games this season that highlighted why the clock is important.

“You never know,” he said. “We played Wakefield, round four, just before half-time, the clock’s there.

“What do they do? Smash the ball up into the air. Davy [Litten] and Tommy Briscoe don’t quite take the ball, it bounces up, they score. Changes the whole half-time team talk, and ultimately it changes the course of the game.

“Warrington away, we’re quite close on the scoreboard, we kick the goal, end up going six in front at half-time, it changes things. Scoreboard pressure changes things.”