Hull FC: A sinking ship or one on the rise? (Saturday 23rd July 2022)

Last night was a disappointing night for all involved with Hull FC. Conceding 38 points in one half is unacceptable, let alone when you had the lead at the break. The red card for Ligi Sao only compounded the disappointment. The team showed a lack of desire and fight, and we're ultimately an embarrassment. You look at the stats and see that we have now conceded 196 points in the month of July. It wasn't a one off thing, it was something that has been consistent throughout the month.

What is the more worrying part is that this has happened for 4 of the last 5 seasons. Under Radford, we lost our last 11 games in 2018, and our end to 2019 was also abysmal. 2020 was good under Andy Last, but last year was also a poor end, with us losing 9 of our final 10 games. This makes it clear then that this problem is not new. So why would you sack Hodgson?

Radford failed to get the players pumped up for his last few seasons. That's why we saw results like 80-10 to Warrington and 72-10 to Wakefield. That's why he was sacked, which all Hull fans wanted and even Radford admitted it happened at the right time. Radford is now heading the Cas that ripped Hull apart last night. He is motivating the players and he is getting them to buy into his system even with their numerous injuries. This is why they are moving up the table very quickly. Hull, meanwhile, still have that soft underbelly from when Radford left. Hodgson can't get the players pumped up for the big games. Last night was a prime example of, like in the Radford era, we have the tendency to crumble out of nowhere. Surely, then, as this issue is an issue that has spread multiple coaches, the players should be the one's brought into question rather than the coach?

We can look at last night for example. As soon as Castleford get the back to back tries, who actually kept on going? I wouldn't say many did. Houghton kept going to the end and actually had a fairly decent game, but that is overshadowed by 11 players giving up after 50 minutes. Once Cas go a man down, the players should have used that as a kick up the bum to get more points. However, they conceded 3 tries in 10 minutes to a team with 12 men. People are saying that Connor walked off on his own accord and wasn't a sub. The fact that Hodgson refused to say that he will play next week and that he "won't let emotion get in the way." No matter how good a player you are, there is no excuse for that. It's disrespectful and quite frankly childish, and again shows that his hot headed temper is still present, after showing some improvements in that regard this season. Taylor never stopped last night either, he showed effort and desire. But he makes too many mistakes now. He's not what he used to be. He might fight for the badge, but if he's making too many mistakes, he shouldn't be playing. That is another problem we have, and it's not Hodgson's fault.

One thing that Hodgson deserves a lot of praise for is how he's clearing out the deadwood. He's changing the team to how he wants it. He's getting rid of those he doesn't want. However, he can't do that with players like Taylor. Radford handed him a long 5 year contract. 5 years is a ridiculous length, meaning that he won't be leaving until the end of next year. We could try offload him to another club, but no top team will want him now. He will also be 32 at the end of next season, so the chance of him regaining enough form to be nearing the level he was at in his prime again are very slim. Stupidly long contracts and other long term mistakes made in the Radford era are things that Hodgson can't be blamed for, and something Hodgson is doing a good job of rectifying.

Hodgson says we only completed 1 set in between the 40th and 70th minute yesterday. That is absolutely mindblowing, That just shows the lack of effort, the lack of desire. If you can't be bothered to work for the team and actually put a bit of effort into it, you shouldn't wear the shirt. However, Hodgson isn't down on that pitch, he can't stop a sinking ship like that. That's down to the players. The argument that Hodgson should take the blame for picking the players could be valid, however, in this case it isn't. People seem to forget we are in an injury crisis. We had 14 players out of action in the second half of Hull v Wigan! I've never seen an injury crisis like it. Then this week a lot of our reserves/academy were picked for Origin. You can lament that Hodgson should have picked different players, but in reality, our resources are very limited. We have used 36 players this season if my maths is correct. We named a no. 39 in our 21 man squad last week. I struggle to understand how people can't see why we are on our last legs and that Hodgson really doesn't have that many players to choose from. Again, it's not Hodgson's fault.

We've mentioned that Hodgson is good at getting rid of the deadwood, but he is also good at making signings to put his stamp on the team. He's signing McIntosh and Lovodua, who are already being brilliant for us. This season alone he has signed Trueman and Hoy who should bring a lot for us going forward. He's done great things with the players that we already had who have lots of potential. Look at Wynne, Scott, Swift and Fash for example. Over the past couple of weeks he has signed Longstaff, Simm and Walker on loan to try and prevent the ship from sinking, which although it hasn't worked (highlighting the lack of effort and desire from some of our permanent players), it shows he is really working to fix the issue and make his stamp on the team. This week he secured the signing of the experienced Will Smith until the end of the year and although he is probably wondering what he has walked into, that signing should work out well as long as we keep his wife's name out of our mouths! Yes, some signings like Luke Gale and Josh Reynolds (if he advocated that) have been bad but the point is that the good signings outweigh the bad ones. Hodgson is really making his mark on the team. As this continues and getting rid of the deadwood continues, we will create a deadly combination for improvement. Hodgson is bringing together, it just takes time.

This isn't Hodgson's doing, but the work with the academy is superb. Micheal Shenton has done an absolutely fantastic job with them. They've won 10 games from 11 this season and have just beaten Huddersfield Giants 56-6. They are the future of this club and it's looking very bright. We just need to keep working with them and aiding their development. All the academy players that have made their debut this season have looked good, such as Matty Laidlaw at Magic Weekend. Give them a few years to get accustomed to the top flight of Rugby League and they'll be brilliant players. We have brilliant players in the making, it's just a time game again.

I do think changes are needed though, I am under no illusions that changes aren't necessary. Getting rid of our conditioning coach would be a good place to start. We get too many of the same lower leg injuries. Why is that not being improved or sorted out? A new conditioning coach might fix that. I did see that the lower leg injuries are due to our training ground so when we move to the Uni of Hull it should improve, but I'm not sure how truthful that is. I believe Kieron Purtill is our attacking coach (if not, I apologise). He should go. Our reliance on Jake Connor is no doubt due to our attacking coach and his methods. Reliance on Jake Connor in attack is not good when he seems to get an injury fairly frequently. It may work out when he's fit, but when he's not, we literally struggle to score a few times, let alone enough to win a game as proven in the Catalan's and Warrington games recently. Therefore, a new attack coach is needed in my opinion.

They say the fish rots from the head. The head of Hull is Adam Pearson. We should get rid of him immediately. It was 11 years ago to the day yesterday since he took over. But except maybe 3 or 4 good seasons in that time, what has he actually done in that time? Not very much. He threatens to make changes and throws tantrums during our end of season demises, but then never does. Although I would say most Hull fans throw the same tantrums, he's the one in charge and should either not be doing/saying that or not throwing them tantrums. We need a new Director of Rugby or replacement for Adam Pearson who actually knows how to run a rugby club and can actually do what is necessary to take us to the top. Preferrably it would be someone who doesn't throw tantrums that alienate the coach and players from himself. Adam Pearson often avoids the criticism but not this time. He's not the man for the job, he needs to go or be replaced.

The final imperative change we need to make is captaincy. We need someone who can steer the ship and stop it from sinking like last night. Gale is not the man to do that. I'd even go as far to say Gale shouldn't be playing. Whether we have to sign a new player to be captain or award it to someone else, something needs to change in that regard. The lack of a true leader is evident in a game like last night's. Houghton is probably the most born leader we have, so I'd give captaincy back to him for the rest of the year at least. However, we should be signing more players (or more rather we have to, ideally a Second Rower, Prop and/or a Loose Forward) before the 2023 season, so I would not be opposed to us signing a new captain.

A word on discipline after Sao last night. It's generally improved over the course of the year. We are conceding less six again's for example, but red cards like that are stupid and just dumb play. It just adds to the number of players we are missing. We could do with doing some more work on that, although I don't think it's a huge problem anymore. Red cards like Sao's last night could be just down to the situation and him losing his head, but that doesn't make it any more acceptable.

So to finish, I think we need to trust Hodgson. It's a process and Hodgson is heading it well. It's understandable to be angry and upset after games like last night, but it is not Hodgson's fault. I'll say it again for the people at the back, it is NOT Hodgson's fault. I've said what changes I think we need to make to get us to the top. Whether you agree or not, one thing's for sure, the boys need us right now. Let's keep supporting them even in the bad days because you'll never appreciate the good days if there are no bad days. Hopefully soon I'll be able to do a positive blog about the Black and Whites. Thanks for reading!