Hull FC half-back Jacob Miller claims being left out of the Black and Whites’ starting lineup at the beginning of the season has made him a better player.
The 21-year-old Australian, who joined from Wests Tigers in 2013, was not given a start by coach Lee Radford until round six against Salford and has impressed alongside room-mate Jordan Rankin ever since.
“It was obviously tough not playing. You never want to miss playing footy but I guess it can only make you that bit hungrier and hopefully that’s done that,” he told the Hull Daily Mail.
On his partnership will Rankin, Miller said it was “always going to take a bit of time”.
“We’d not played together for a while, but Horney’s [Richard Horne] also played some good footy and whichever way Radders [coach Lee Radford] goes will be the best for the team.”
Horne returns to Hull’s 19-man squad for the derby and Miller said: “I guess the competition can work in your favour – you don’t want to put that bad performance in and you keep working hard. We’ve such depth in the squad if you do have a bad performance then your position is at risk.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s thriller at the KC Lightstream stadium, Miller added: “We know how big a game this week is and, fingers crossed, Rads picks me for that. I’m really enjoying it and just trying to do the little things right and hopefully keep learning and improving. That’s all I can ask for.”
