Hull FC can still catch Castleford at the Super League summit: that’s the view of Black and Whites coach Lee Radford despite their narrow defeat to the league leaders on Friday.
Hull are now nine points adrift of the Tigers following their first loss to Daryl Powell’s side this year. Castleford are eight points adrift of their nearest contenders, second-placed Leeds.
But Radford says that while it will be a big ask, Hull will not give up the fight.
He said: “It’s now a massive task but it’s catchable because we’ve got so much improvement in us. It was one versus two in the table and there was nothing in it. To get so narrowly beat today is encouraging.
“That’s what we’ll be striving for.”
Radford was, however, left to lament on a frustrating opening hour for his side – which left them with too much to do in the final quarter despite tries from Mahe Fonua and Fetuli Talanoa setting up a thrilling finale.
He said: “We lost because we didn’t click into gear until it was too late. Defensively I thought we were really sharp but the errors after half-time really hurt us. That’s the frustrating thing, the fact we didn’t play so smart with the ball. We got that in the last 15 minutes but it took us 65 minutes.
“I know how much more offensively we’ve got in the tank. We need a huge improvement with the ball next week.”
