What problems has Brett got to resolve?
Brett Hodgson welcomed some of his Hull FC players back for the start of pre-season yesterday morning ahead of the 2022 Super League season. The Black and Whites were extremely disappointed with the way last season ended and the head coach will be looking to make progress with his side over the next few months.
Hodgson has given his senior players another week off to rest up, meaning only the younger members of the first-team squad are expected to report to training this week.
He’ll hope to set the tone of pre-season with them before his star names return to the club’s County Road training ground.
As the head coach gets his second year in charge underway, the Mail takes a look at some of the things he’ll hope to achieve before the season starts.
Get back to basics
The Black and Whites started last season very well as they bought into Hodgson’s philosophy and looked the part over the first few months.
However, as injuries and Covid hit, the Black and Whites’ standards appeared to slip and they struggled to maintain that defensive strength and intensity.
Consequently, they made a habit of shipping points over the second half of the season and struggled to arrest their negative momentum.
Reinforcing that defensive first mentality will be right at the top of Hodgson’s list of priorities, no doubt.
For the most part the message will remain the same as the head coach goes over shape and tries to build up stubborn character throughout the squad.
Instil confidence
There’s no doubt about it, FC’S self-belief took a huge hit towards the end of last season as they lost game after game and fell out of the play-off places.
Repairing that quickly and effectively will be absolutely crucial for the head coach, who has livened up his side with some fresh blood over the off-season.
A gradual clearing of the treatment room will help, but visible progress on the training ground is the most efficient way of building confidence within the side.
Improving the bond the players have between each other will be beneficial, too.
The head coach made headway when it came to team morale last pre-season and he’ll hope to go into the Super League campaign with a tightly knit squad who are willing to go the extra mile for their teammates.
Improve Attack
The Black and Whites struggled for consistency in attack last season, regularly producing jaded displays and struggling to break opposing teams down.
They had their moments, but they struggled at times too, particularly in the big matches and they finished the campaign with a scoring record of 19.48 points and 3.35 tries per game.
Injuries to key players meant Hull struggled to get their first choice spine combination on the field, which obviously didn’t help.
But FC have to be more creative with the ball in hand next year if they are to meet expectations and at the very least claim a play-off spot.
Hammer home discipline
Only Salford and Catalans received more yellow cards than FC’S 11 last season and Hodgson will be working to reduce that figure over the coming months.
Their discipline regularly let them down in close, high pressure games and the head coach will hope to improve his side’s ability to keep their cool when up against it.
Suspensions often follow on the back of poor decision making and the last thing Hodgson will want to see is players being forced to miss the action.
Support young players
Three players have been promoted from the youth ranks to the first team for preseason and it is hoped they can make a positive impression.
They’ll join the eight he called up last season in the club’s rising stars programme, meaning they will be working closely with the new head of emerging talent Michael Shenton.
It’s a huge year for the club’s young players with reserve and academy competitions returning and those in the first-team set-up will be expected to make progress.