Hull not used to being ‘46-point underdogs’
NO PLAYER in the British game is in better try-scoring form than Huddersfield Giants’ Darnell McIntosh but he is blissfully unaware of his prolific rate.
The young winger heads into tonight’s match against Hull FC having crossed in each of the last seven fixtures, amassing 10 tries along the way.
But McIntosh – enjoying his breakthrough campaign – told
“I really don’t know how many I’ve got.
“I don’t really keep track. It is always nice to score tries but I’m just looking to improve as a player.
“I do feel like I’m developing especially with little things like my work off the ball – such as decisions when to come in and when not to.
“It helps playing alongside Lee Gaskell and Jordan Turner on that left side. We’ve got some good combinations going now.”
The improved form of Huddersfield-born McIntosh – who only turned 21 last month – has coincided with his club’s stunning rise.
Last week’s stellar 16-12 success at leaders St Helens was their tenth win in 11 outings and kept alive hopes of gatecrashing the top-four.
McIntosh scored a first-half brace before helping Simon Woolford’s gutsy side produce a remarkable rearguard action.
Now they host a Hull side who have suffered five successive losses. He said: “They are a bit out of form but are a good side and every match in this top eight will be tough.
“You can’t expect any to be easy. I’ll be up against (Bureta) Faraimo probably and he is a strong lad. But Hull have a lot of dangerous players especially in that backline.”
McIntosh, tipped by Woolford for England Knights recognition, added: “Obviously, it was massive for us winning at Saints last week.
“At the end of the regular season we found a bit of form and, in the Super 8s, Simon has told us to focus on the opening three games with Hull and then Wakefield.
“But we still weren’t happy at Saints. We had to do too much defending in that second half yet still came out on top against the best side in the comp.
“It was down to sheer effort in the end and that shows how much we want it and how much we want to become a complete team. We must build versus Hull.” HULL FC head coach Lee Radford is not concerned by fan pressure mounting on him but does find it “interesting” how some of his squad are dealing with the club’s current poor spell.
Despite bringing the Airlie Birds back-to-back Challenge Cup final wins in the last two seasons, when also guiding them to the top-four both times, the 39-year-old has come under fire recently on the back of a fivegame losing sequence.
All Hull’s hopes of silverware in 2018 have already gone ahead of tonight’s trip to Huddersfield Giants and Radford is aware of some negative reaction from a portion of the club’s support.
“Some fans are ‘get rid of that player and that coach’ and it’s the nature of the beast,” he said.
“Some fans understand the situation. What this period does is highlight a few things from individuals and how they react in this situation. That’s something I’ve not been privy to with them as we haven’t been in this situation since 2015. So that’s interesting.”
Hull’s stock has fallen so sharply that former player Garry Schofield this week said he feels Hull should get a 46-point start against in-form Giants.
“We are capable of turning it around,” added Radford, who is desperate to make sure the club’s season does not tamely peter out.
“There isn’t a great deal of pressure externally with some pundits giving us a 46-head start. It’s the first time in a while I’ve coached such a heavy underdog.”
In contrast, Huddersfield – who still have a slim chance of the semi-finals – have lost just one league game since April 27.
Radford added: “They have been scraping wins, then building on it and that’s something we want to do. Every week they’ve got taller, their chests have got wider. That’s what we have to try and find before the end of the season.”