Aidan Sezer has called on his Hull FC teammates to keep ‘replicating what they do at training’ in order to keep up what was a much more disciplined account on Friday night – despite what was a cruel 18-16 defeat to Leeds Rhinos at Headingley.
Playing with a high completion rate, Hull finished sets on their terms, while in defence, they were much more composed, controlling their aggression and sticking in the fight – taking the lead and holding it before being undone by a frantic Ryan Hall try two minutes from time.
But focusing on the positives, Hull know they have to stick to that level of discipline now while focusing on putting teams away more and taking their opportunities. John Cartwright’s side had chances to strike and kill the game off but didn’t take them. It came at a cost.
However, for Hull’s captain, rewards will come so long as they stick to Friday night’s level, with a trip to Leigh Leopards next up on Thursday.
“We need to replicate what we do at training, stick to a process, and be disciplined in other aspects,” Sezer said. “We need to get that right. We have addressed that, and we’re looking forward.
“John has been pretty direct with it – it’s an area that has been letting us down, but we’re working hard during the week, and we’re putting all the things in place to perform well.
“We just have to keep moving forward. In any walk of life, you can’t live in the past. It’s about what’s ahead of you and what you can control – it’s about taking lessons from what’s happened and moving forward. That’s the mentality we’ve got to have as a team.”
Ultimately, the message for Hull is to control what they can control, with the belief internally that they are good enough to achieve a top six finish this year. They will finish the eleventh round of Super League in seventh spot after four successive defeats but can jump back into the top half with a victory at Leigh.
For Sezer, the key is to keep their counsel and focus on what they need to do – and not on referees’ decisions and the like, with a crucial captain’s challenge going against them at Headingley before Leeds’ late winner.
“There’s a lot of emotion riding on it (the games), and the officials are human at the end of the day,” the Hull captain added. “They’re going to call what they see or what they’re feeling in the game.
“We need to understand that and understand that sometimes we can get a call that’s not correct at the time, but it’s about controlling what we can control and that’s being a lot more disciplined than what we have been.”