Coach Brett Hodgson is aiming to lift his side ahead of Thursday’s Super League clash at Castleford following their 33-18 Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by St Helens.
There was controversy at Leigh Sports Village as Saints halfback Theo Fages scored a key try after picking up and racing away when Josh Griffin dropped the ball as he went down with a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon.
Hull fans were furious at what they saw as a lack of sportsmanship, but Fages insisted: “I only realised after that he’d gone down. I just played to the whistle, it’s play on for me. It’s unfortunate for Josh, I hope it’s not too bad.”
Hodgson said: “It’s part of the game if there’s an error. I don’t think Theo Fages is a dirty player, he saw the ball on the ground and did what he had to do at that time.
“It’s one of those ones where I think everyone was a little more concerned with the way Josh went to ground. I can’t be too angry.”
Griffin will undergo a scan, and the injury added to Hodgson’s disappointment at the defeat.
“It’s obviously very hard to take,” he added. “Effectively we were one play off scoring or potentially putting more pressure on at the backend of that game and I don’t think the scoreline reflected the second half in particular. There’s nothing I can say other than disappointment.”
Regan Grace grabbed his second try for Saints after intercepting Jake Connor’s pass.
“You’ve got Jake who executes that pass 99 times out of 100 and the one time he doesn’t is against St Helens where Regan Grace runs the length,” added Hodgson. “It’s fine margins.
“There were a few boys shedding some tears. There was a lot of effort put into that performance and the way it went at the end I thought it was not indicative of the performance.
“We’re disappointed but we have to make sure we process it and move on.”
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