Andy Last has criticised the inconsistency of his Hull FC side.
Hull FC were below par against Castleford.
Andy Last has blasted the inconsistencies in Hull FC’s performances, with the interim coach stating that such realities justify the changes coming for next season.
The Black and Whites are making significant changes under incoming head coach Steve McNamara for 2027, with new signings made and in the pipeline and players, both under contract and those whose contracts are expiring, set to leave the club.
In a nutshell, inconsistency is the catalyst for change, with Hull, sat 12th in the Super League table, poor in defeat once again on Friday night, losing 18-14 to Castleford Tigers and failing to build on their victory at St Helens last week.
“100%,” Last said when asked by Hull Live if these results justify change. “I’ve been saying it in these press conferences, but good players turn up every week, and they don’t have those inconsistencies.
“It’s apparent, over the last three years, that there’s inconsistency in performances. It’s just not good enough. Some players need to aim up and hit consistent performances on a weekly basis, as that’s what good players do.
“I’ve just addressed the performance. The players have had some stern words.”
The defeat was Hull’s 17th in Super League from 23 games this year, with the side poor from the get-go, leaking too many metres in defence and not in sync when in attack to cause Castleford enough problems when in good ball.
“It certainly is (the hope that kills you),” Last continued. “I’m disappointed with the performance. I’m disappointed with the result.
“We spoke all week about the dangers of the game due to the issues Castleford are having and that we needed to make sure that we performed well and were a consistent team, but our inconsistencies were on show once again.
“I wish I knew (why Hull can’t string performances together). The preparation during the week was good. The messaging during the week was good. It was nice to have a week where we had some positives from the previous week. The lads felt good. But our inability to deliver back-to-back performances has been our Achilles heel now for a long time.
“We just didn’t seem in sync. We were really fluent with the ball against St Helens. Our halves were creative. Our middles did a solid job. But tonight we didn’t get on the front foot for long enough and we got marched down the field a bit too easily. And when we had some good ball field position, that good connection just wasn’t there.”