By IAN JUDSON
HULL FC find themselves at a very important crossroads in their season after the shameful display at the MKM Stadium against Toulouse Olympique.
On the one hand, they appeared to draw a very firm line under the events surrounding the departure of John Cartwright, with a thumping win on the road at Castleford Tigers. But on the other hand, the inept performance against their French visitors saw certain issues resurface.
What the Black and Whites dished up on Sunday against what was the team at the bottom of the Betfred Super League was nothing short of pitiful and absolutely exasperating for Andy Last and the players themselves. And with no game this week, it has two weeks to fester in their minds, before they get a chance to right the wrongs with a trip to play Bradford Bulls.
However, despite the missed opportunity on Sunday, there is also some good news for the Old Faithful supporters, with in-form prop Ligi Sao likely to return after missing this defeat due to concussion protocols, while other names have been mentioned for possible returns over the coming weeks, including barnstorming prop Herman Ese’Ese, back rower Jed Cartwright and young winger Harvey Barron who was included in the 21-man squad for the Toulouse game, but it was decided not to risk him just yet.
While there are no set dates for those players to return, it is definitely tangible to see that there is certainly a difference in attitude at the various press conferences I attend, with more talk of players returning than players being out injured, even despite recent casualties John Asiata and Sam Lisone.
While the performance, or lack thereof, against Toulouse has certainly left people scratching their heads, it also needs to be pointed out that Hull do seem to have a few issues against the newly promoted sides this season so far, having also lost at home to York Knights and just scraped a late victory against the Bulls on the opening weekend of the Super League season.
Make no mistake, the Airlie Birds are still holding their destiny in their own hands. And no matter what anybody thought about the defeat against Sylvain Houles’ side, there is no turning around and bringing John Cartwright back, or attempting to bring new head coach Steve McNamara in early. The club are where they are in the current season and it is up to the players and interim head coach Andy Last to sort out what happens from hereon in.
The remainder of this season – a bit like last year – now feels like a bit of a free hit. No-one is really expecting Hull to uproot any trees or challenge for the playoffs because of the old issues of unexpected defeats and – as shown on Sunday – a frustrating lack of a cutting edge when it is really needed and with nobody really knowing what to expect from them.
But I will keep you informed.
