While Hull KR chase a Grand Final place, their cross-city rivals could end up with Super League’s wooden spoon
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
It will be little consolation to Hull FC fans but John Betjeman seemed to know how they feel right now. “If anywhere’s the end of England and the end of land, it’s Hull,” the poetic sage once said. The club’s interim head coach, Simon Grix, is in that frame of mind, too.
Grix described their defeat in London in May as “at snake’s belly, the very bottom”, but asked supporters to be patient. Saturday at Elland Road was even worse and will test their loyalty to the max. Grix is perplexed that the club has gradually eroded its quota of “X factor players” to get to this state, where his injury-hit team included five shirt numbers in the forties and a number 52. London had the unique feeling of coming up against a side with as little experience as them at this level and took full advantage, much to the amusement of all but the Norman Hunter Stand lower tier.