![\"Hull](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1_2A8A7986jpgH.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHull FC showed plenty of encouragement against Wigan but they must improve one key area.<\/p>\n
09:36, 28 Jun 2026Updated 13:57, 28 Jun 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hull FC can take plenty of positives out of their Wigan performance but they must improve one key area. <\/p>\n
Hull FC produced one of their best performances of the season against Wigan Warriors on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it wasn\u2019t enough to prevent a 20-16 defeat at the MKM Stadium but there\u2019s still a lot the side can take from it ahead of next week\u2019s Magic Weekend derby against Hull KR.<\/p>\n
First things first, they got their intent right. They started the game with physicality, aggression and punch. They were challenged by Andy Last to meet fire with fire and they did exactly that. The forward pack relished that challenge. They got stuck into Wigan and got through some monster stints.<\/p>\n
Herman Ese\u2019ese got his first start of the season in his fourth game back from injury and constantly smashed into Wigan, making 154 metres from 22 carries, while Harvie Hill went strong against his former club and Jed Cartwright was also a menace off the bench. The pack came to the fore. They were criticised against Wakefield after getting rolled downfield but here they embraced the fight and ensured Hull got on the front foot and built into the game.<\/p>\n
As always with Hull displays these days, there is loads of grit, spirit, tenacity, and resilience about them. They are qualities fully instilled into this side now and qualities that go such a long way. Given Wigan\u2019s recent form, many anticipated a significant defeat, but Hull’s DNA has changed from the team that used to crumble under adversity. They are tough to beat now and tough to break down, and Wigan knew that. It took a moment of brilliance from Harry Smith to win the game and that was that.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, that extra dose of quality is what undid Hull, and while there was plenty of bite and passion in their performance, they lacked that bit of extra quality in good ball when it mattered most. After all, sport at the very top level is ruthless and it\u2019s those one per cent areas that make the difference: shape, execution, timing of runs, passes, etc. They are all crucial and Hull just weren\u2019t fully in sync when they had those good ball opportunities.<\/p>\n
Hull had the chances to really kick on after taking the lead in the first half through Lewis Martin and then Harvey Barron and again in the second, and they had to come away with more points. Of course, Wigan deserve credit for fronting up in defence. They are a side that really stands up physically and they don\u2019t just roll over but equally Hull had to throw more at them to get over the line.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not a pop at half-backs Aidan Sezer and Jake Arthur, who have reverted roles and look much better for it, with Arthur now the dominant first receiver and Sezer playing wider, or Amir Bourouh and Logan Moy at hooker and full-back who both had some moments, but collectively as a team, and especially in terms of runners and timings and the like, it\u2019s something that they need to nail in the future to beat the best teams in this competition.<\/p>\n
They scored three tries here but it could and should have been more. On that front, Tom Briscoe continued to roll back the years in a strong spell of form and was controversially denied a try by the video referee but Hull also left points on the field after Cartwright scored his try in the second half. They had the chances on Wigan\u2019s line but didn\u2019t take them \u2013 and at 16-8 that could have killed the game off.<\/p>\n
Still, it was an encouraging account from Hull. They\u2019ve been depleted with injuries all season but they have never backed down \u2013 despite a hefty penalty count against them, something Andy Last \u2013 amid a breakdown of the countdown clock late on that caused some late drama with confusion of time left \u2013 rightly took issue with post-match. The difference in the effort-based fundamentals of this team compared to two\/three years ago is astronomical. They just don\u2019t go away. They never give in, and regardless of how much fatigue, which was perhaps a contributing factor to the penalties given against them, sets in.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just finding that bit of extra quality now that is key, but Hull, even if they\u2019re perceived to be in limbo waiting for Steve McNamara\u2019s arrival ahead of next season, still have plenty about them, and if they add to the positives with some improvements, more wins will come this year. And regardless if the play-offs are beyond them, there\u2019s nothing quite like winning, and no one of a Black and White persuasion needs any reminder of that going into next week. Bring it on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hull FC showed plenty of encouragement against Wigan but they must improve one key area. 09:36, 28 Jun…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20805,5903,20370,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-663071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-hull-fc","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-league","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}