HULL FC went down 30-22 to the Castleford Tigers at The Jungle tonight in an entertaining Super League affair.
The Tigers raced into a 30-10 lead before the Black and Whites rallied to threaten a comeback at 30-22, but the Tigers held on for a priceless two points.
Hull boss Simon Grix had this to say after the game: “I’m disappointed. I thought from where we were in terms of our effort, desire and commitment and London, I thought we improved quite a bit,” Grix said.
“But, we blinked first and there were a couple of average individual bits for their tries. We spoke at half-time about getting in the grind as Cas were teetering.
“Our discipline wasn’t good enough and we conceded penalties on tackles four and five which hurt us and then with 15 minutes to go we decided we wanted to play.
“We stretched Cas and bombed a few tries. It’s hard to be positive losing games but we did move the ball around and looked desperate.
“We didn’t move the ball early on, it got away from us through our ill-discipline. We kept letting them off and conceded a few sloppy tries.
“Against London, they didn’t look like a team that fought for the badge but they were committed today.”
So why did Hull only start playing in the last 20 minutes?
“Often teams when the scoreboard has almost gone, they find that energy. The question for us is can we find it earlier on. It’s almost easier to find when the chances to get back in the game are gone.”
Grix had special words for youngster Logan Moy, who impressed at fullback just hours after signing a new three-year deal with Hull.
“Logan was really good and brave. He is small in stature but throws his body around. He will get better and he wants to learn, he listens when you speak to him.
“He is picking up all he can. He is a bit of a sponge but we will be careful with him. He will potentially be number one by the end of his new deal and we have to plan for those things.
“We will see him plenty this year if he plays like that.”
Grix admits that replacing Jack Walker with Moy was a selection decision.
“I wanted Moy to play, his energy has been good and last week wasn’t good enough.
“We aren’t in a position to change everyone after the London game and Jack needs to tidy a few things up. Logan hasn’t let us down when he has played.”
Ben Reynolds also made his debut as the Hull boss praised the former Leigh Leopards halfback.
“Morgan Smith brought our halves into the game more with Ben digging into the line well. He didn’t let the game pass him by and for game one I was pretty impressed.”
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