Hull FC snap seven-game winless run as they claim a hard fought victory over the Huddersfield Giants

Hull FC coach Tony Smith was delighted to see his players rewarded for their efforts following a hard-fought victory over Huddersfield.

After seven losses on the bounce, the Black and Whites lacked confidence, but they showed a tenacious and committed performance to become worthy winners.

“It was a great result and most of all a great performance, I’m just really happy for the players,” said Smith.

“We don’t like some of our results or how we lost some games this year, but we haven’t been down, we’ve kept working hard and staying positive, so I’m glad we got some reward for those efforts and our positive attitude.

“I loved their offense, but I loved their defense. There was real attitude in defence, there was desperation and numbers on display without the ball.

“The first half was the best half we played all year. I challenged them to match that in the second half and they weren’t far off.”

Smith was full of praise for his young full-back Davy Litten who was a shining light in his side’s victory.

“Davy was great today,” he explained. “He handled everything against some really experienced kickers, came in with a try assist and just supported himself the whole game.

“I love that about him and it also reflects on some of our older players and we have to be careful sometimes.

“I loved the crowd today. Fans had all kinds of reasons not to show up today. We didn’t win or perform well, so to those who showed up, hats off to them. I’m glad we rewarded them today.’

Giants boss Ian Watson made no apologies for his team’s performance.

“I think Hull were the better team today,” said Watson. “They showed up at the start of both halves with the right intention and attitude and dominated the game with a defence-first mentality.

Huddersfield Giants coach Ian Watson acknowledged they lost to the better team on the day

“I think it’s fair to say that Hull was better than us in those areas of effort. They were more physical and they surpassed us today.

‘We seemed very indecisive in what we were doing, while Hull were very proactive and put first in everything, their efforts paid off.

‘The game is very simple. If you show up defensively with a good attitude and work really hard for each other, you’re likely to get a result.

Huge credit to the Hull crowd as well. They were very vocal and tried everything to drag their side to victory.

“The crowd will always be against you when you’re away from home, but their crowd has been amazing and really helped their efforts to defend their goal line,” he added.