Hull FC must find another way of breaking teams open following the ‘catastrophic’ loss of Will Pryce for the season.
That’s according to pundit Jon Wilkin, who was speaking after watching the Black and Whites fall to their third straight Super League defeat on Thursday night. John Cartwright’s side were beaten 14-10 by Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue with a series of errors costing them dear on the night.
Hull led 10-4 for a period of the first half, but they struggled for territory in the second half, with a tired and jaded performance with the ball in hand only serving to put them under pressure as they struggled to find a spark.
Lewis Martin scored twice on the night but he has the only player in the Hull ranks to break the line on the night.
That’s where they will be feeling Pryce’s absence the most, Wilkin believes, with the Black and Whites in desperate need of cutting edge.
“I think Will Pryce is a catastrophic loss for the them and the nature of his injury,” Wilkin told Sky Sports. “They look like they need someone who is a genuine running threat.
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“John Asiata is creating the space and he needs someone with incision off the back of it. You look at Wigan and Sivo for Leeds, they have players who can break tackles, make line breaks and I think that’s maybe the challenge.
“Without Will Pryce, just that one missing piece within the people who touch the ball the most in that team, it’s a really big loss for John Cartwright.
“I think they need a running threat through the middle of the field. If you haven’t got a Will Pryce who’s a threat, that third link off the two halves playing and then he’s there, you have to break the ruck open.
“Amir Bourouh isn’t a natural runner of the ball. He had a few tidy runs tonight.
“I think they have to focus on that middle third, but they need incision to win rugby league matches and that’s what I don’t see Hull FC having right now.”
Pundit and Leeds Rhinos CEO Jamie Jones-Buchanan concurred, added: “You can only play with the ingredients that you’ve got and the bench is a big frame and with Herman Ese’ese and Joe Batchelor to come back, for me it would be all about that middle third and trying to get some ruck speed out of dummy half.”
