JAKE ARTHUR can’t wait for his first taste of a home derby when Hull KR visit the MKM Stadium this evening.
The Australian halfback, who is in his first season with Hull FC, missed the 24-6 Good Friday game at Sewell Group Craven Park due to a calf injury.
Instead his first experience of the city rivalry came on the west coast rather than east, in the Magic Weekend clash earlier this month at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool.
The Black and Whites again came out second-best, the 26-12 reverse extending their losing streak against Hull KR to eight matches.
It’s a record Hull FC are desperate to put right this week, even if the odds will be against them considering their struggle at the bottom while Hull KR mount a defence of the Super League title.
But Arthur saw enough at Magic, when the scores were level at 12-12 with a quarter of an hour remaining, to believe they have a chance.
He said: “I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that – when we got to the stadium their fans were into us and our fans were cheering us, it was awesome.
“It was an exciting game and I can’t wait for it to happen again.
“I feel like we were right in that game – hopefully we can turn a few of those moments and get the win next time.”
The 23-year-old reckons that’s the story of Hull’s season and insists they’re not too far away from turning things around.
“It’s been a tough season. We’ve had a lot of injuries that have made it hard, but at the end of the day we haven’t performed well enough,” said Arthur.
“We’ve been in a lot of games and a few moments have cost us. We’ve lost a lot of games by small margins. If we can turn them into wins, the table turns quickly.”
Arthur was among the players to spend a couple of spells on the sidelines in the opening three months of the season but now hasn’t missed a game since late April – coincidentally every match since Andy Last took over as head coach.
“I struggled a bit early in the year, finding my style and how I fit into the team,” he admitted.
“I feel over the last couple of months I’ve got more consistent and built my game slowly.
“Lasty has given me a lot of confidence to take a bit more control. He’s happy to back me to try things, find my best style of footy and how that can help the team.
“I’m always learning. I’m still getting things wrong but if I get something wrong last week, I’ll try to put it right this week. I think that’ll add up in the long run.”