(lee) So Rankin will return for the Derby Magic match. Should never have dropped him last week as Horne had a shocker. Anyway bring on the One True Derby! Hull FC coach Lee Radford has no qualms bringing Jordan Rankin back into the side should he look to switch his half-back pairing yet again for Saturdays Magic Weekend derby. The close-season signing from the Gold Coast Titans sat out the demoralising 44-16 loss to Wigan last Friday, with the experienced Richard Horne deputising. Rankin scored Hulls opening try during last months 21-20 derby defeat to Hull KR at the KC Lightstream Stadium, and Radford is confident the 22-year-old can take that experience onto the big stage at the Etihad Stadium this weekend. Ill be looking to switch the half-backs around again, and Jordan has the experience of the first derby to take into this one, Radford told the Mail. Im sure hes going to take the chance with both hands. Hes a real threat with the ball in his hand and were going to need that against Hull KR. Rich probably had the game to forget last week, so hell be stinging too and wanting to put things right. Its a really difficult one. Derbies are always competitive games with the nature of them, and we must get the performance right. Radford is also left with many options within his forwards, describing the current situation as top heavy. Were going to be forced to switch it up as were top heavy up front, he admitted. With our injuries earlier in the year, I was forced to bring in Garreth Carvell. Its tough because the three that came off the bench three weeks ago at KR (Liam Watts, Josh Bowden and Jordan Thompson) want to put their performances right. But theres also a lot of kids waiting in the wings to take their chances. You can only hope they understand the reason why theyre left out and that you get it right and it doesnt come back to smack you. Fighting an uphill battle against the Warriors, Hull were 14-0 down in the early stages and struggled to get into the game, something Radford wants to fix quickly in their first of six consecutive away fixtures. Its vital we start well on Saturday. It was difficult to take against Wigan as we wanted to lay the foundation for the 80 minutes and we failed to do that, he said. Thankfully, that means theres plenty to work on in training. When you get 44 points put past you there is a lot to go at. It is what it is when things arent going for you. The individual effort is not an issue, its just collecting everything together. Were pretty okay with the long stretch on the road, its not an issue for us. Our home form has been scratchy so were hoping for a change in our fortunes. The results are the most difficult thing to take recently. With a club of our stature and to see 10,000 fans screaming the house down every week, we want to be winning. The Etihad is the perfect venue and perfect game to stop the rut that were in. Weve just got to come to the party
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 12:36:15 +0000
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