The interim coach on what Hull did well, what they must work on, and Aidan Sezer’s captain’s challenge.
Hull FC captain Aidan Sezer.(Image: SW PIX)
Andy Last has conceded that his Hull FC side are down on confidence but has listed one key element they can build on as they look to salvage their season.
The Black and Whites’ campaign is slipping away after back-to-back defeats, with Sunday’s 16-14 loss at Bradford Bulls leaving them six points adrift of the play-offs with 16 rounds to go.
And with such a large portion of the season still to go, Last is refusing to write off the year, with a positive team attribute laid out despite the nature of another poor attacking performance and disappointing defeat.
“As a team, we play with a lot of heart and grit and determination, and we hang in there,” Last said. “Defensively, we move well, but we probably could have improved our yardage defence when we did turn the ball over in good areas.
“Some individuals have just got to make some better decisions when we have got the ball and we need our spine players to just try and execute a little bit better when we do work our way into good field position.”
On confidence, Last continued: “Confidence is one which you can train. You’ve just got to be mindful as a coach not to be too negative with your messaging and try to focus on the things that you’ve done well to try to build a little bit of confidence.
“Again, I think the way that we’re moving, the way that we’re defending, Bradford do test you; they had a lot of good ball field position in that first half and we were able to turn them away.
“Some of our scramble, some of our effort, were excellent. But when we get into position to post points and build a little bit of pressure, we’re just not quite where we need to be. So that’s going to be a work in progress for us.”
Last also took no issue with Aidan Sezer’s decision to challenge a knock-on decision early in the first half. The FC skipper was unsuccessful with his appeal, with Hull losing their challenge for the rest of the game.
“It’s a difficult one, really,” Last said. “Aidan obviously felt that the ball had been kicked out of his hands, and then when you watch it back, it’s clear that he puts the ball on his foot and then obviously, Loghan Lewis more or less takes a step and it comes out.
“I am not going to question Aidan’s decision-making; obviously, the captain’s challenge is in the heat of the moment and he felt like somebody kicked out his hands so. We’ve had a couple that have gone for us and then some have gone against us.”