Hull FC take on Leigh Leopards this Saturday evening.
Hull FC captain Aidan Sezer celebrates his try with Logan Moy. (Image: Dave Lofthouse, Hull FC)
Andy Last believes there is no doubt his Hull FC players are giving 100% in terms of effort. However, he has conceded they need to add more quality and composure to the decisive moments in order to win games.
The Black and Whites, regardless of performance level, have been in virtually every game they have played this season, a testament to their competitiveness, grit, and resilience. But it’s the quality that has been sorely lacking at times, especially in a run of ten defeats in twelve Super League matches going back to Easter.
A tough run, it’s nailing the attacking opportunities that is once again key for Hull, who take on Leigh Leopards at the MKM Stadium this Saturday evening.
“The players are giving 100% in terms of effort, but there are aspects of the game in which you can quite clearly see there’s some frustration,” Last, speaking ahead of the clash, said. “There’s frustration towards some of the officials and some frustration towards each other in terms of decisions that have been made, when to offload a ball, when to kick a ball, etc.
“That’s also a frustration within the playing group because we have been close in plenty of games, but when we get opportunities in good ball, we just need to build a little more pressure and execute a couple of plays better to get across the line.
“We just need to have a little bit more composure in certain moments, and individually, we need to nail a couple of those moments. We need to be connected and concentrate for 80 minutes and make sure that we build the game well.”
On where Hull need to be better in order to nail those moments, Last has again pointed to discipline, in terms of not giving penalties away but also not falling away from the plan and going away from the things that work.
“Discipline is a big one for us,” Last said. “We’ve spoken about our discipline and discipline isn’t just with the person in the middle of the field. It’s the ability to do your job and do your job well, regardless of how you’re feeling in terms of fatigue and regardless of how you’re feeling emotionally.
“We need to be better under fatigue and we were fatigued last week because of the amount of ball that we turned over cheaply. That’s something that we have to control better: our ability to execute skill under pressure, execute skill when fatigued, and stick to a plan for 80 minutes and not only do it for 15.
“We have had an inability to sustain any sort of field position or build pressure and it’s quite clear that we’re just not quite all on the same page and not quite in sync, yet there have still been opportunities for us to score some points and post some tries. We just need a little bit more quality.”
He added: “This is a big game for us now in front of our home fans. We’re up against a team that has just pushed itself into the top six, an attacking team that plays a good brand of rugby.
“They’ve got some dangerous individuals and we need to make sure that we keep those individuals quiet and then try and force them into some uncomfortable positions with the way that we want to play the game. I’m hoping the work they have done during the week will transfer itself onto the pitch. We’re looking forward to it.”