Leeds Rhinos win was best yet under me - but we paid price of quick turnaround says Hull FC coach Brett Hodgson

Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com - 10/03/2022 - Rugby League - Betfred Super League Round 5 - Leeds Rhinos v Hull FC - Headingley Stadium, Leeds, England - Hull FC's Jake Connor (r) is congratulated by Andre Savelio on scoring a try against Leeds.

The Black and Whites were beaten 33-26 at Castleford Tigers last Sunday, but bounced back in impressive fashion with a 31-8 rout of Leeds Rhinos on Thursday night.

He rated that as the best performance of his time in charge, but former Huddersfield player Hodgson admitted a string of injuries made it “bittersweet”.

Most significantly, Hull lost Joe Cator to Achilles damage in his first game back following a similar injury last August, but Kane Evans, Jamie Shaul and Chris Satae also failed to finish the match.

“The concerning thing is injuries and it is concerning as well because we were put in this situation, a four-day turnaround,” said Hodgson.

“We are doing a lot for player welfare with yellow cards and looking after players, then we expect them to turn around and perform after a short period.

“We had no training going into [Thursday’s] game, other than a short run on Wednesday.”

Hodgson said the entire camp are “gutted” for Cator.

“It’s hard to enjoy a night like that when one of your own gets hurt the way he did,” he added.

Evans, who was sin-binned in the opening exchanges, suffered a tight calf muscle and Hodgson said: “Hopefully he will be okay, but time will tell over the next week.

“Jamie Shaul also had his calf tighten up.

“Chris Satae, I was a bit concerned it was his hamstring, but he is adamant it’s only tightness and a bit of cramp, so he should be okay.”

Despite the injuries, Hodgson feels his team have set a standard, following a poor performance in their previous game.

“We got the balance wrong,” said the coach of Hull’s loss at Castleford.

“We tried to win the game early and didn’t earn the right to play.

“That’s what was so disappointing, not necessarily the loss against Castleford, but the manner of it.

“We spoke in the week, had some good, hard, brutal conversation about what’s required at this level to be consistent.

“Everyone knows we are a club that’s inconsistent and we needed to turn up [at Leeds] and right last week’s performance.

“Now we need to continue doing that and that is what we spoke of after the game.

“The performance in general, especially with the players we didn’t have playing, was probably the best since I’ve been at the club.”