Hull FC determined to hit back at Leeds Rhinos

Hull FC head coach Brett Hodgson expecting an immediate response at Leeds rhinos on sunday night.

He was delighted to welcome the return of fans but disappointed not to celebrate victory following Monday’s 27-10 defeat to Catalans Dragons.

After 431 days since their last home game, 5,527 supporters were allowed back into KCOM Stadium as part of the Government’s road map to easing coronavirus restrictions on Monday evening.

Hull led 10-4 early in the second half after tries from Mahe Fonua and Josh Reynolds, but Catalans hit back with 23 unanswered points in the final 26 minutes to secure their fifth Super League win of the season.

Hodgson is confident Hull will taste success in their next home match – at the end of June due to maintenance of the playing surface.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t play well enough to get the result and the crowds coming back is brilliant. You could hear the atmosphere, they tried to get us home but unfortunately we weren’t good enough today.

“I’m really excited about the next time, we’ll give a little bit better performance to make sure they go away smiling.”

Hodgson believes Hull will bounce back from the heaviest defeat of his tenure, starting at Leeds. “It’s imperative that we get a response,” he added. “The players are really hurting and we need to have a response at training to make sure we go into our game next week prepared and turn around what happened. We aren’t the finished product yet. We came up against a side that, in my opinion, are top four in the competition, and we were taught some lessons.

“We will process this, we are on a path so we won’t have success every single week.”