Lee Radford impressed with young Hull trio in Leeds defeat

Hull FC coach Lee Radford was disappointed to lose at Leeds but admitted that he was impressed with Jordan Lane, Jack Logan and Jordan Abdull.

The Black and Whites went down to a 20-16 defeat to champions Leeds Rhinos at Emerald Headingley Stadium on Thursday night.

Nine players who featured for Hull in the game came through the club’s academy and Radford said he was proud of how well some of his younger players stood up to the test.

He said: “Nine kids came through our system who played. There were 13 English kids and a fully English spine. Who would have thought that five years ago?

“I thought there were some strong performances. Jordan Lane, on his debut, looked a Super League player. He’s our best paced defender after contact. His tempo after initial contact is one that I would love to pass on to other players. He is really good on the ground, his head is in tight constantly and he is a great player.

“I’m over the moon that he got on as well as he did because he has had some setbacks in his career. He has missed an awful lot of games due to a back injury but he is going to come good for us.

“Jordan Abdull was fantastic for us and really closed the link between the middle and the edges. He caused all sorts of trouble. I thought Chris Green gave us a lift when he came on as well so their challenge now is to back that up next Friday.

“Jack Logan looked really, really sharp. He had some aerial challenges and came out good with them and returned the ball with some assurance so I’m over the moon for Jack as well.”