
Hull FC head coach Simon Grix has accused the returning Sam Tomkins of ‘playing the game’ in trying to earn penalties during his side’s fiery 24-16 loss to Catalans Dragons.
The game marked the first for Tomkins in 287 days, last playing in the Grand Final against Wigan Warriors back in October. The ex-England captain scored on his return but copped plenty of attention including a high shot from Ligi Sao that saw the Hull FC man sent off.
Sao’s red card marked the second in the first 15 minutes of the game with Catalans’ Tariq Sims sent just minutes earlier and Hull FC boss Simon Grix gave his verdict on both decisions when he spoke to BBC Humberside post-match.
Asked about the ‘heated’ nature of the game, Grix countered and clarified his position on the cards: “I’m not sure about heated, I thought the Sims one, he obviously collects head around the head but I don’t think he’s done it with any big intent. He’s not swinging his arm all the way back.
“I think the sending off was for the lift as opposed to the head contact and I get that.”
As for Sao, he added: “Sam’s on his way down. I don’t know. I thought I might be a 10-minute one as opposed to a red card but it’s not my job to do that.
“But then it was even and 12 v 12 so both teams had the same issues, they were just better at it.”
“Almost done a backflip” – Sam Tomkins questioned by Hull FC boss

Credit: Imago Images
After the Ligi Sao send off for his shot on Sam Tomkins, the veteran got some more attention but this time from his opposition full-back Jack Walker. When asked if his player was lucky to avoid a stint in the sin bin, Grix laughed off the suggestion and noted Tomkins’ wily nature.
“Oh no, come on. Sam has almost done a backflip, playing the game a little bit I think. So, no, that was fine.”
It was a tough loss for Hull FC with their slow start costing them per Grix and the size of the Catalans pack putting a huge strain on his side in the heat. However, it remains a marked improvement from earlier in the season and still marks progress for a side that looked to have downed tools at points earlier this year.
One thing that Grix will hope to change in the remaining eight games is the fact that Hull FC are still yet to win on the road and repay their travelling support. They’ll have just three more opportunities to do so this year but Grix was keen to pay credit and apologise to the fans.
“It’s frustrating for all those people who paid a lot of money to come and watch as well. I hope they go away seeing the effort, but I hope they’re disappointed, we should be disappointed.
We want to win games obviously. I think we felt like we were just going to turn up and we were going to go well again. You need to be on and try to win every little battle, particularly at the start of the game and get a foothold and we just didn’t get one.”
