Hull FC head coach John Cartwright believes the impact of Jez Litten was one of the key differences in Sunday’s Hull derby.
The Black and Whites lost 18-4 at Hull KR to ensure they remain one point outside of the play-offs with two more Super League games left to play. They fell behind through a Noah Booth effort in the first half before Litten, Jack Broadbent and Tom Davies touched down after the break.
Tom Briscoe got Hull on the board late in the day but ultimately it was a consolation effort at Craven Park with Rovers taking the derby spoils and the bragging rights. Litten was the man of the match on the day in east Hull and Cartwright was left to lament the hooker’s impact on the game.
Hull FC boss John Cartwright speaks after the Hull derby
“It was a really dour affair,” Cartwright said after the game. “We were probably outclassed in the end. Jez Litten was a constant threat to us. He was the major difference between the two sides.
“I thought both forward packs cancelled themselves out and I thought we did a good job, in general, on their halves and their full-back, but he (Litten) has done it to us before, and he got us again.”
While it might not have been a high action and free-flowing encounter, it was certainly feisty with three players being sin-binned. Yusuf Aydin and Jordan Rapana were both yellow carded for Hull, with the former being sent for 10 after a hip drop tackle, while the latter was late.
“I’ll be interested in the Yusuf one,” Cartwright said. “The vision you get here isn’t all that flash, so I couldn’t see clearly how it went, but I really hope it’s an offence and it’s not something they look at and say there’s nothing to answer if you’re going to sin bin a guy and make it 13 on 12, it’s a critical part of the game.
“I’ll look at the incident and if it warranted a sin bin, we’ll say so be it, but it doesn’t matter now – the game is over.
“Again with Jordan, the vision isn’t flash. Hopefully, he hasn’t got him high – he didn’t think he got him high. Hopefully, it’s just a timing thing. We’ll just have to wait for the match report. If it’s not high, we’ll hold our hope that he will be okay.”
Elliot Minchella was the man shown a yellow card for the Robins and Cartwright believes that was probably the right call.
“I think Lewis was slipping but they are the rules,” he added. “He got him high with his shoulder. I don’t know how they’re going to rate that one. I couldn’t tell you, but by the way the games have been officiated this year, it’s a sin bin for sure.”
