Hull FC have undergone a number of fitness tests over the last week or so, with interim coach Simon Grix making the best use of the squad’s time as they prepare for the visit of Leeds Rhinos this Saturday afternoon.
The Black and Whites are back in action at the MKM Stadium after a four-game run on the road, with the side having 15 days to recover and then prepare between the Huddersfield Giants and Leeds fixtures.
With no game due to the Challenge Cup final, Hull used the time and the University of Hull’s facilities to assess where the players are physically as they approach the halfway stage of the season. And the general feedback from that testing has been good, with the squad also working on the field as they look to turn their ongoing 11-game losing streak into the victory they crave.
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“We identified some things that we need to be better at, so we’ve hammered them over the last couple of weeks,” Grix told Hull Live. “The lads just have to take it out there with them, but the last week has generally been pretty good.
“We had a couple of tough physical days, and we retested them on some of the tests we did in pre-season just to check where they’re at. There were no major disappointments, which was good.
“We then had the weekend off, and we were back in this week fresh to focus on this game. We’re all ready to go now and get back into it.”
Targeting what would be a morale-boosting and reliving win, Grix is confident one result will fall for his side at some point. In the meantime, he is delivering the same messages to his side, with hard work at the center of everything as they look to fix their defence and the end of their sets ahead of their second meeting with Leeds this season.
“As staff, we’re confident, and we feel like the last few fixtures, we should have won,” Grix continued. “We’ve been in those games, and that’s where we need to be again. One will fall for us at some point, and we’ll get more right than we get wrong. We’ll get a win, and then hopefully, that triggers something else.
“Our job is to prepare them the best we can. I think we’re doing a decent job of that with what we have, the number of staff we have, and the squad we’ve got. When it comes to Saturday, we just need to do our job. We’ve practiced well so far, and if we do that job really well, then we will give ourselves a chance.”
Grix also has a couple of calls to make in terms of selections. There is a chance Carlos Tuimavave could be back in the lineup, with Lewis Martin also likely to come back into the fold.
“We’ve got some quality here,” Grix added. “I know the table doesn’t tell any lies, and we’re there for a reason, but we’ve gone from having loads of kids in and not having any choices to actually making some choices. That can only be beneficial for us moving forward.”
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