We probably deserved to be embarrassed, concedes Briscoe

One of the few for Hull FC supporters in their atrocious play-off loss at Huddersfield was the sight of Tom Briscoe crossing twice to reach the milestone of 100 career tries. But, then again, he has now officially left the Airlie Birds.

The England winger has opted to try his luck elsewhere in 2014 with Leeds still the expected if unconfirmed destination, and it is easy to see why.

Thursday’s humiliation rounded off yet another year of under-achievement at the East Yorkshire club despite so much talk of delivering.

They may have reached the Challenge Cup final but Peter Gentle’s side served up an abject showing in defeat against Wigan at Wembley and there have simply been too many such dire performances this term.

They were fortunate to scrape into a final place of sixth after vowing to be serious contenders for the top four but a lack of creativity and footballing nous left them way off the pace.

The Australian coach insisted after Thursday’s debacle that, while it was undoubtedly the lowest point of his career, he would still be in charge come the start of next season but it remains to been seen whether chairman Adam Pearson concurs.

Gentle’s position had already come under fierce scrutiny before the lacklustre Wembley loss – when mistake-ridden Hull were kept scoreless by Wigan – and it is widely believed he was already earmarked for removal before Huddersfield inflicted such a catastrophic defeat two days ago.

Briscoe, 23, did his best to defend his coach after that game, laying the blame squarely at the squad’s door, but inevitably it is not the players who pay the price for such inadequacies.

“I don’t think it was his fault,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

“He’s not out there putting in that performance. I think it was down to the players and we just didn’t turn up.”

When asked if Gentle could take Hull on next season – the former Wests Tigers assistant is only halfway through a four-year contract – Briscoe replied: “He’s shown this year in getting to Wembley and the second round of play-offs (what he can do).

“If we’d been a little more consistent then we had the chance to finish fifth or even fourth this time.

“Then we’d be in a better position to challenge but the losses we had throughout the season kind of derailed that.

“We finished where we did and had a tough run-in obviously against Huddersfield who won the League Leaders’ Shield.

“We always knew it’d be a tough night there but we needed to put in a better performance in than we did.”

Remarkably, they trailed 54-6 at the break, the biggest half-time deficit the proud club had faced.

Though restoring some pride in the second period, they still conceded more points than in any other game in their history to leave dismayed fans shaking their heads in disbelief.

“Obviously it’s not the way I wanted to leave the club but that’s just the way it is sometimes,” said Briscoe, who debuted for Hull as an 18-year-old in 2008 having progressed through their Academy to full international honours.

“You’ve just got to accept that. I wish the boys all the best in the future and for next year.

“Huddersfield just ran harder than us, faster than us and tackled harder than us, and the scoreline reflected that.

“Obviously, it ended up a bit embarrassing but for the performance we put in we probably deserved that.”

Briscoe’s two second-half tries took his tally for the Black and Whites to 90 in just 147 games, the other 10 in his career century coming for England.

“I’d have swapped them all night for a win but it’s not to be,” he continued, before reflecting on his favourite Hull FC moments.

“To play at Wembley twice, some of the tries I’ve scored especially in the derbies, and obviously the tackle on Peter Fox against (Hull Kingston) Rovers…there’s too many to name.”

Tellingly, though, there are no memories of silverware to recollect and Hull – without a major trophy since the 2005 Challenge Cup win – seem no nearer to solving that historic problem.

Perhaps he was led to turn down Hull’s offer of a new deal earlier this year by the knowledge that his best chance of earning success lay elsewhere.

Although Featherstone-born Briscoe did finish with 15 tries this term, it was far from his best return and, with Josh Charnley plundering 41 at Wigan, he has fallen down England’s pecking order ahead of the World Cup.

A move now is right for him but the worry for Hull will be how many of Briscoe’s colleagues will begin to look elsewhere too.