Brett Hodgson hails milestone man Danny Houghton after Hull FC win over Catalans Dragons

The hooker was in his element at the MKM Stadium as the two packs went toe to toe in a bruising contest.

Houghton led the way defensively and laid on both tries to celebrate his milestone occasion in style.

"He's brilliant and deserves all the accolades he gets," said Hodgson.

"We go into the games thinking we'll bring him off after about 50 minutes and protect him a little bit but he just keeps rolling his sleeves up and doing what he has to do.

"He's got so many different accolades and for him to reach 400 is a real testament to being in the game for that long. You don't do that if you don't have any quality.

"I'm really proud of him."

Jake Connor's goalkicking proved to be the difference after the teams scored two tries apiece, with Jordan Lane and Chris Satae going over for Hull in the first half.

The Black and Whites were full value for the victory after winning the battle up front.

"We're really happy to grind out a performance," said Hodgson.

"I thought it was a pretty high-quality game with not a lot of errors in the whole contest. We probably gave up a little bit too much late in the second half which put a bit of pressure on ourselves.

"But tonight was about getting the victory. It was our third game in nine days so very difficult conditions but we played well.

"The contest was excellent. Our game plan was executed well and thankfully we got the victory."

Hull are into Super League's top four thanks to back-to-back wins, something that looked unlikely in the wake of a painful derby defeat to Hull KR on Good Friday.

Hodgson has been delighted with his side's response - but has warned that they cannot afford to relax with Toulouse Olympique up next.

"The emotional baggage that could have come with that game was huge," said Hodgson.

"We had to really detach from that quickly and I think the players have done that.

"They've rolled their sleeves up during a tough period and we need to make sure we're ready to go again on Saturday."