Hull 32-30 Castleford: Tony Smith excited by what “underdone” Hull can do

Hull FC coach Tony Smith admitted his side were slightly underdone following their 32-30 win against Castleford, and is excited by their potential.

The Black and Whites led 32-6 after an hour but Castleford fought back to make it a pulsating finish to their opening match of the season.

Smith was pleased with some aspects of his side’s display, but insists there’s far more to come.

He said: “It was an entertaining game, and no one can go home saying they weren’t entertained by both teams.

“I didn’t think they (Cas) did much with the ball in the first half but they came alive in the second and we allowed them to do so.

“I thought our first half was really good with the ball, but I thought defensively we weren’t great, and it got worse in the second half.

“It impacted our attack in the second half. We got a little bit kick happy and let Cas off the hook, whereas in the first half we were a lot more ruthless.”

Tony Smith: We’re a bit underdone, but we’ll get better

Smith ran with almost a new-look spine, consisting of new signings Tex Hoy, Jake Clifford and Brad Dwyer, as well as young half-back Ben McNamara.

Smith insisted that his side will get better as they gel over time.

He added: “I’m not making excuses, but I think we’re a bit underdone.

“A lot of my players haven’t played 80 minutes yet. We’ll need to get better and improve but I’m very excited by what we can do.

“You had to credit Cas. They threw caution to the wind and played some really entertaining stuff.

“Our defence wasn’t good enough, but I don’t want to take away from what they did, they were very good.”

Next up for Hull is a trip to Headingley to face Smith’s former club Leeds on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Castleford will look to get their first win on Sunday against St Helens, who won the World Club Challenge on Saturday.

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