Paul Cooke has pulled no punched assessing Hull FC’s derby defeat.
Hull FC prop Herman Ese’ese.(Image: Getty)
Paul Cooke has laid into Hull FC’s squad after taking ‘shortcuts’ in the derby against Hull KR last Thursday night. The Black and Whites were beaten 34-20 by the Robins despite taking an early 12-0 lead at the MKM Stadium.
Ultimately, it was Rovers who dominated the game on the way to a ninth successive derby win, with Hull’s lack of fitness exploited in the clash – a fact that wasn’t lost on Cooke, who pulled no punches in a scathing assessment.
The defeat leaves Hull 13th on the Super League table and just four points ahead of bottom-placed side Huddersfield Giants, whom they meet on Thursday night.
Speaking on All Out Rugby League’s Back10 podcast, Cooke said: “Hull FC had an inability to stay in the game and by that I mean their fitness levels and concentration levels.
“Herman Ese’ese goes out on the field and after two minutes he’s two metres offside and gives a penalty away, then four minutes later he gives a high shot away as Jez Litten runs past him and then he’s sat down in a prone position on the floor, a seated position on the floor when Tom Amone scores. Sorry, that’s not a player that’s defending his own try line with will and want.
“Then Amir Bourouh makes a couple of errors. The one where he rips the ball when losing by six is a blatant error. He throws the ball at someone (Sam Luckley) at the ruck, which is something that was prominent in the game a few years ago.
“He throws the ball deliberately into him; whether he should be in the ruck or shouldn’t be in the ruck, I think that’s a shortcut from Amir Bourouh and I think that Hull FC are full of shortcuts as players.
“You look at them and they’re unfit. I don’t know what they did in pre-season, but if I were the coach of them, I’d have them in seven days a week because they’re not fit enough. But you look at some of the shortcuts that they took; Tom Briscoe, for all of his good, runs across with a minute to play and throws a pass to someone which isn’t on. That that’s an error I could accept because he’s trying something, but some of the defensive efforts and some of the decisions to take blatant shortcuts, to me, are where that club’s at.”
Outlining the importance of Thursday’s game against the Giants, Cooke, who says Hull need to lead with actions, not words, after another owner statement last week, continued: “They play Huddersfield this week. If they lose, they’re two points in front of Huddersfield, and they could finish Wooden Spoon.
“Now would that be a big kick up the backside for everybody at the club. The club owners came out and made a statement last week. It bores the life out of me. There are too many noises that come out of the club. Get on with walking the walk and not talking the talk.
“The players particularly. Richie Myler did an interview earlier in the season and said the players have got a great opportunity. Well, they haven’t taken it, have they? They’ve lost 11 of 13 games since John Cartwright’s departure or something like that.
“I just get bored of hearing it. I think they have tried to take it (responsibility) on and I think that’s what they tried to do last week with a statement. And it’s not easy when the other side of the city has done so well; it magnifies it.
“They’ve got a weekend this weekend where they play Huddersfield, which is a real opportunity, but they’re off the back of a win. So if they lose that game, where does it go for them then?”
Hull have appointed Steve McNamara as their new head coach for the 2027 season, with Cooke believing he’s already planting the seeds behind the scenes, with a big pre-season programme expected from November.
“He’s assessing everything,” Cooke added. “He’ll have his finger in the club already and making sure he’s understanding what’s going on within the club. And one thing you know about Steve is he’s very diligent and he does everything right. He changed the culture at Catalans, which is no mean feat when you look at how much of a party atmosphere it can be down there.
“I think it’ll be a difficult pre-season for the players this year, much more difficult than what I’ve heard from last year, speaking to some of the players. So yeah, the only way is up for Steve McNamara, which is a good thing for him.”