Hull FC's Jake Connor wants to see more "spin on the ball" for Great Britain

JAKE CONNOR admits frustrated Great Britain owe New Zealand some “payback” as they look to level the series on Saturday.
Great Britain's Jake Connor, right, chats to assistant coach Danny Ward at training in Auckland earlier in the tour. (SWPIX)Great Britain's Jake Connor, right, chats to assistant coach Danny Ward at training in Auckland earlier in the tour. (SWPIX)
Great Britain's Jake Connor, right, chats to assistant coach Danny Ward at training in Auckland earlier in the tour. (SWPIX)
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Analysis on Great Britain's 1st Test defeat to Kiwis

The Hull FC centre barely had an opportunity of any real note as the conservative Lions lost the first Test 12-8 last weekend.

They have chance to atone for that disappointing display when they face the Kiwis again, this time at Christchurch on Saturday, before the tour rounds off in Papua New Guinea.

Jake Connor scores for England Nines against Wales in Sydney (SWPIX)Jake Connor scores for England Nines against Wales in Sydney (SWPIX)
Jake Connor scores for England Nines against Wales in Sydney (SWPIX)

“Hopefully there’s a bit of payback there,” said Connor.

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“It was a tight game last time and they came out on top but we had enough chances to win it.

“Hopefully we can put a bit more spin on the ball this week, create more chances and finish them off this time.

“We were a bit slow to start but as the game went on we started to get our combinations together.

“We might not have played as flamboyantly as we wanted to but that was just the game in general.

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“It was probably just who cracks first and it was that tight you just had to complete your sets and get behind your chase.

“It was a tough game but hopefully we come out on top this week.”

Connor, 25, did not feature in the opening loss against Tonga and - though playing for England in the World Cup Nines in Sydney - conceded he was rusty in his first appearance of the Lions tour.

“Obviously I’ve not played for five or six weeks with Hull not making the play-offs so I had a bit of a longer break than most people,” he said.

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“It was good to get out there and get 80 minutes under my belt.

“I’ll definitely be better for that. Preparations have been a lot better; we’ve worked on a few things we needed to and put stuff together that we think will win us the game.”

The former Huddersfield Giants star helped England defeat the Kiwis in three of their four meetings last season and he is confident the Lions can square up the series.

“Beating them last year was a massive achievement and a step in the right direction,” he said.

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“Not playing together since that obviously you're combinations don’t just come back like that (Straight away).

“This week hopefully get a few more of those together and we're capable of doing that and we’re expecting to go out and come back with the win.”

Meanwhile, Connor is already looking forward to the start of the new 2020 season after it was announced that Hull would start at Leeds Rhinos in a double-header with Toronto Wolfpack v Castleford Tigers.

“With it being a double-header, we’ll be expecting a good crowd there with Cas, too, and it’s always good to play at Leeds,” he said.

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“We got rid of the hoodoo last season by winning at Headingley (for the first time in 12 years.)

“It’ll be a good start to the year and looking forward top getting off to a flier and then the Hull derby after that.”

New Zealand superstar Sonny Bill Williams could make his Super League debut for Toronto at Headingley with the club due to announce the All Blacks’ signing next week.

Connor added: “He’s massive. He puts bums on the seats doesn’t he?

“Everyone will want to see him and surely if he comes to the KCOM, all the Hull fans will turn up in numbers so it’s great for the comp and that’s what we need.”