Hull FC star admits leaders must bounce back

The treble-chasing Airlie Birds fell 30-16 at home to their Yorkshire rivals on Friday and have now seen Wigan Warriors draw level with them at the top of the table.

The disappointing defeat as Hull opened their Super 8s campaign came just a week after an epic Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Wigan and, admittedly, they did look jaded.

But former Great Britain centre Yeaman insisted: “I don’t want to make excuses; Cas turned up and wanted it a bit more than we did.

“They came here and executed their gameplan to a tee. Full credit to them. “They deserved the victory, especially with their first half start.

“It took us 60 minutes to get into the game but that was 60 minutes too late.

“I just thought the full team was off and you could see that by the way we started the game (Hull were 20-0 down after 28 minutes).

“We spoke about they had nothing to lose and they were going to throw the ball about.

“We just weren’t ourselves. We said afterwards that hopefully this is just a blip.

“The Wigan game took a lot out of us; not just physically but emotionally.

“But this game is gone now and we need to bounce back next week.”

Hull, infamously, lost 46-6 on their last trip to Widnes on March 10 but that defeat proved a catalyst for their remarkable season as they went on to win 15 of their next 16 games.

“Some people might see it as a chance for revenge but we don’t see it like that,” said Yeaman, who will hope to add to his 2005 Challenge Cup success with Hull when they face Warrington Wolves at Wembley on August 27.

“That game’s gone and we have played them at the KC since.

“We just want to build some form going into the Wembley weekend.

“We have two games now before Wembley to put this defeat behind us and there is no better way than making up for that tonking earlier in the season.

“Looking back at the Widnes game, it was a poor performance but look how we responded after that.

“Look how we responded to the Leeds defeat. We are going to have little blips here and there.

“You can’t be on it every week and Friday was one of those examples.”

The 32-year-old admitted he was disappointed with his own game against Castleford.

“We pride ourselves on our defence and we know that wins us a lot of games,” he said.

“Personally, my defence was a bit off because that’s part of my game that I set high standards.

“But we are in a good place. It was only a week before we beat Wigan. Now it’s all doom and gloom?

“Defeats are part and parcel of any sport. It’s how you respond and we will be looking to get back on the horse against Widnes.”