BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Hull FC coach Tony Smith says his side needs to embrace the hurt and disappointment after they were battered 40-0 by Hull KR.
The hosts slumped to their seventh loss in a row in a history-making loss to their derby rivals.
Smith described the Good Friday smashing as a “major disappointment”.
“We’re downhearted and downbeat, particularly that second half,” he said.
“In the first half we were much more in the competition and much more competitive. We didn’t ask enough questions in the first half, but defensively we were in it.
“We conceded a couple of tries from kicks, and they can do that to you. In the second half there was lots between the two teams in terms of sharpness and execution.
“We weren’t good enough. We need to hurt from that. We need to take it away and rectify it.
“We need to get confidence from working hard and training hard. We suffered some changes in the team as the game went on and the injuries we had. When you’re good enough, you overcome that.
“We’re not there yet, as a club and as a team. We have to work hard and get through those situations. We’re not good enough for that at the moment.”
Smith admitted he is unsure when Hull FC will reverse their terrible form.
“I can’t tell when you that days’ coming… I can’t do the Nostradamus thing. We just have to keep working hard until it does come.
“We’re way off being the dominant team for long periods. We didn’t throw enough punches in that first half. We need to be more effective in our attack.
“We keep apologising [to our fans] for our performances, but there’s nothing else we can do. Hopefully we can repay them sooner rather than later for their faith.
“We want to make them proud again and hopefully we can do that.”
The Black & Whites lost Jake Clifford, Jamie Shaul and Mitieli Vulikijapani to injuries during the game.
Shaul suffered a calf strain, while the winger and half injured their ankles.
Smith declined to comment on the James Batchelor tackle that injured Clifford,
“I’m not too sure how bad it is,” he said.
“We’ll see how they go.”
