Three things we learned: Hull FC’s resilience, Griffin shines & KR encouraging

Drew Darbyshire 08 Feb 2020 10:50 AM

Here are three talking points from Hull FC’s derby win over Hull KR.

Hull FC’s resilience shines through

Lee Radford said: “I don’t think we would have won that 12 months ago, we would have got beat out there. It’s a good sign.”

The Hull boss summed it up perfectly in his post-match press conference. Hull’s resilience has come on leaps and bounds over pre-season and you can tell they are a much more grounded side now.

In previous years, the Black and Whites have struggled to stay in the arm wrestle when it comes to big games but they showed they’ve got the bottle on Friday. They could go a long way this year.

Griffin pulls out all the stops

Hull FC centre Josh Griffin had an absolute stormer of a game. He caused havoc on the flanks and Hull KR struggled to deal with him throughout the 80 minutes.

The 29-year-old scored a try and provided an assist – but it was his carries out of yardage that were most impressive. He made 139 metres from 11 carries, having an average gain of 13 metres.

Griffin also bust 12 tackles, made three clean breaks and 10 tackles in the derby. It was a complete performance from him.

Hull KR out to prove doubters wrong

Hull FC may well have claimed the bragging rights in the city – but their counterparts can be proud of their performance, with the scoreline not really showing just how tight of a game it was.

The game all boiled down to one defining moment, which was Jamie Ellis’ missed penalty goal in the second half that would have extended the Robins’ lead to six points, only for FC to go down the other end and score.

But Hull KR were massive underdogs and they went toe-to-toe with Hull’s big pack. I was particularly impressed with Matty Storton, who arrived from Bradford in the off-season. He loves to get stuck in and the 20-year-old is one to keep an eye on.