‘Disgusted’ Andy Last tears into Hull FC as attitude questioned after York loss

Andy Last has pulled no punches after Hull FC were beaten 20-16 by York Knights with the interim coach confirming that he is both ‘disgusted and disappointed’ at the performance.

Defeat to the Knights means that Hull’s record against the promoted teams sits at just one win from five games the York having done the double over the Black and Whites and with an away trip to Toulouse still to come, that record could yet worsen.

“I won’t be sleeping much tonight. A lot to ponder, a lot to think about,” Last said when speaking post-match in his presser, shared via the club’s YouTube.

He then began to tear into his side, stating: “(I’m) disgusted really with 60 minutes of that performance. The first 20 minutes, we didn’t get out of the blocks, which is an indicator of attitude.

“We got to grips with the contest in the second 20 minutes and went it at half time and spoke about the importance of the next 20 and setting the tone for the second half but we didn’t get that right.”

Despite leading 16-8 at the half, Hull FC failed to register a point as they were dominated in the second 40 with Last pointing to discipline as the biggest factor behind the loss.

“Ill discipline is killing us. Seven penalties coming out of yardage against us so you don’t give yourself any opportunity to build any sort of pressure in terms of position. It was so easy for York to get up the field, they just waited for us to give away a cheap penalty.”

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Hull FC interim boss questions attitude as key message ignored

A frustrated Last was then asked if the word ‘dumb’ would characterise his side, something he agreed with as he pointed to the whole week’s message being completely ignored.

He said: “It’s the same players making the same errors. That’s a frustration. Our last play options today were poor, we had an opportunity with 15 minutes to go but we didn’t come up with enough quality when we had the field position.

“We’ve spoken about attitude all week. I did an interview with yourselves on Wednesday and spoke about attitude. You can stress the point and talk to them about attitude and the importance of delivering on performance, getting the basics right, not taking York lightly, but as a team, individually and collectively, we’re just failing to hit the marks on a regular basis.

“For me, that’s question marks over some of the individuals in the team and I’ve got to own that. I’m the one who selects the team and puts the practice together, gets the message across, and they’re not hearing it.”

The Black and Whites will now return to the MKM Stadium for games against the in-form Leigh Leopards and cross-city rivals Hull KR, however, Last has admitted that it won’t be an easy fix.

“It’s not easy to sort it out,” he insisted, adding: “The messaging was right, we spoke about attitude and needing to be better than against Hull KR and the lads have failed to deliver on what we said we were going to do.”