The new season started well for Hull FC with wins over Castleford and Leeds, but the last two weeks have not gone to plan for Tony Smith.
A 38-6 defeat away to Catalans was followed up last week with a 60-14 hammering at home to Salford, and Sky Sports pundit Phil Clarke was keen to point something out.
Incredibly, the loss to the Red Devils was the 19th time that Hull FC have been beaten by more than 40 points since 2018, which is the most in Super League, with Wakefield next on the list with 15 defeats by 40+ points in that same period
“When you look at that record with all those heavy defeats, the only excuse they can have is that they have either been outclassed or they have given up and stopped trying in some of those matches – and I think it’s the latter.
“I think at times they haven’t tried hard enough, they have been too easy to beat and when the game is gone they just let their opponents score more points.
“I guess that culture is something the new coach is trying to change, but that may take some time. Teams always win and lose, but good teams learn and Hull need to learn from these experiences.”
Clarke added on Hull’s start to the season: “You need confidence and belief to do anything in sport, Hull were embarrassed last week.
“If you look at the second half if last season, it was a disaster for them. Then they begin this season with a new coach, new hope, they won the first two matches and people thought things were going well.
“Then they were embarrassed in the south of France when Catalans scored almost 40, people thought that was maybe a blip losing away in France.
“But then to concede 60 points at home against Salford and look like they weren’t trying means they have to bounce back today against Saints and win.”
