Hull FC head coach Brett Hodgson says he will have some “hard talks” with his players after a humiliating defeat to St Helens.
The Black and Whites were beaten 60-6 on home turf by the Super League leaders on Sunday, their third heavy loss on the spin at the MKM Stadium.
The defeat could also be a final nail in the coffin of Hull’s play-off ambitions, as they sit in ninth place in the table with four matches remaining, three points shy of the top six.
“I thought we started the game really well but after 30 minutes we weren’t willing to do what we had to when tired,” said Hodgson of their eleven-try defeat.
“We gave away some really cheap tries which was disappointing and the start of the second half was really poor.
“We wanted to be brave with what we were doing with the ball but not at the cost of giving away cheap possession.
“We were trying to chase points instead of earning them but it’s hard to process why that happened. We’ll have to have a hard look at the video and have some hard talks tomorrow.”
The Hull boss admitted his squad were doing it tough in terms of personnel but made no excuses for another humiliating scoreline.
“It’s important to realise that we still have nine of our best players on the sideline and losing Jack Walker (to an ankle injury) hurt our rotation,” he explained.
“There are still players out there trying their hardest, but they are doing it alone at moments, which is causing us to concede points.
“We have to realise that if we defend together we can defend those moments, but we switched off in pivotal moments and the heat starts to become a factor.
“We need to understand that starting well isn’t enough. When you’re in the arm wrestle and fatigue hits you need to stick to your processes and we have some players struggling with it.
“But we’ve ultimately got to be better and some of our senior players have to step up and lead us out of this.”
