James Bell on Hull FC’s win, building combinations, his own game, and the squads, Andy Last’s buy-in.
James Bell was superb for Hull FC.(Image: Dave Lofthouse, Hull FC)
James Bell believes there’s still a ‘lot more to come’ from Hull FC this season and is confident the side can continue to build in the coming weeks and months.
The Black and Whites dismantled Castleford Tigers in a nine-try 50-10 victory on Friday night, with the Kiwi loose-forward at the heart of their performance. Playing the thirteen role as the middle link, Bell was outstanding, bringing width into Hull’s play, biting into the line, and passing and running to effect, crisp with his exception and deceptive with his sidestep.
But despite a season-best performance to date, Bell believes both he and the team can still get better this term, with the side putting a tough couple of weeks behind them and now fully united under interim head coach Andy Last.
“It was pretty good,” Bell, speaking post-match, said on Hull’s display. “I thought in the first half in particular we played pretty well, and the scary thing is there’s a lot more we can work on to get better for next week.
“I thought it was a good stepping down to head in the right direction. It’s a bit of a line in the sand moment for us to move on with our season.
“The last couple of weeks have been a bit emotional for us but this was just about us being together and turning up for our supporters. They came out in numbers so I think it was important to show them our respect by giving them a good performance. We really needed that. We just want to get on with our season now.”
Giving themselves something to build on, Hull shaped up well at Castleford, with Bell firing with his half-backs, who in turn found the edges at ease and allowed the team to quickly gain control.
“The style we played, it just brought the best out of everyone in the squad,” Bell continued. “We were finding early ball to the likes of Zak Hardaker and Davy Litten.
“We were getting the ball in the right people’s hands and in the right part of the field. It felt nice and it was good to get out in the middle and get some more game time with the boys. Hopefully we can keep building on that.”
And for Bell personally, it was a satisfying night on his 150th career appearance.
“It feels good,” he said. “That’s the second game I’ve played at loose forward in the middle. The boys are still getting used to me. I’m a bit different. John Asiata is the best 13 in the comp, so it’s hard to replicate what he does. I try not to play like John but try to play like myself and I think the boys are adapting well to me.
“The game flowed really well for us. There are going to be tougher games down the road where we will get tested a lot more. It’s those games where we’ll have to stick to our game plan and stick together.”
Bell also highlighted the impact of Andy Last, with the Hull-born coach getting his second stint in charge of the club off to a flyer.
“Andy has really driven this week and told us to play for each other,” Bell added. “He’s a local boy and he’s really passionate. That feeds on us too. I think Lasty is a breath of fresh air, especially this week with everything that has happened. He’s a really good coach and I think the boys are going to get behind him.
“We’ve got to back it up now. Next weekend’s another week to build, to keep getting better and build off this performance. We’ll do our best to do just that.”