Hull FC boss Brett Hodgson out to clear mental hurdle against St Helens

The Black and Whites travel to the Totally Wicked Stadium fresh from a two-week break and in good heart on the back of three home wins in a row.

But it has not been a happy hunting ground for Hull, with their only win in the past eight visits coming in the Super 8s five years ago.

Indeed, the Airlie Birds have lost the previous 12 meetings between the clubs in all.

Hodgson has backed Hull to end that long losing streak tonight, as long as they avoid the psychological trap that has befallen sides of the past.

When asked whether he thought there had been a mental block against Saints, Hodgson replied: “I do and I think that’s been the case for a lot of teams.

“You have to be at your very best to beat St Helens and a lot of teams are defeated by the time they even get to the first whistle.

“That’s what we’re challenging our players on. We want to go there, really compete and give everything. I’m confident we will do.”

While Hull are feeling the benefit of a weekend off, St Helens have had to pick themselves up physically and mentally after losing a tense Challenge Cup semi-final to fierce rivals Wigan Warriors.

Hodgson believes that Elland Road defeat makes the defending Super League champions even more dangerous.

“This is going to be a really tough challenge for us off the back of the loss that they had,” he said.

“We know they’re a high-quality team and still the benchmark team in the competition.

“They don’t often lose two in a row; St Helens have a winning DNA. We’re expecting the best version of St Helens.

“Our preparation this week is to be the best version of ourselves. Should we do what we did against Warrington, Catalans and Toulouse in the last three games then we will give ourselves a chance to be in the contest.”

Hull head into the round 12 clash knowing a victory would take them to within two points of Saints ahead of next week’s home date with Wigan.

Hodgson has given the Black and Whites a pass mark for the early part of the season but he is braced for an acid test of his team’s title credentials.

“We’re happy to be where we are in the table,” he said. “I’d be lying if I suggested we weren’t.

“We have put in a couple of performances that weren’t at the standard that we’re looking to achieve this year but we’ve had better consistency.

“Even the games where we weren’t great, it was probably due to a lack of composure rather than effort.

“But now we’re going to be tested during this tough period. We’ll get a better indication after this fortnight to see how we’re going.”

Adam Swift and Josh Griffin are back to bolster Hull against Saints, while Luke Gale and Josh Reynolds are available after suspension.

Hodgson wants to see more discipline from his experienced half-backs on their return to the side.

“We’re obviously in a situation where at their own doing they’ve fallen out of the team for that little period they were suspended,” said Hodgson.

“The important thing is that they are disappointed and they understand what’s required from that point of view.

“They both contribute in positive ways when they’re on the field, they just have to remain on it.”