Hull FC v Leeds Rhinos: Simon Grix out to shake bad habits as he protects youngsters

The Black and Whites suffered two dramatic collapses under Brett Hodgson and endured another nightmare finish in Tony Smith's only full season in charge.

Even going back to the Lee Radford era, Hull struggled in the closing stages, losing their final 11 games in 2018.

The warning signs were there for the Airlie Birds but they have been unable to find a solution and are now in a situation where the beginning is as bad as the end.

The upshot is a club treading water at the bottom of Super League, a world away from their days as perennial play-off contenders.

There has been no place to hide for Hull's youngsters amid an early selection crisis at the start of 2024.

The sad reality, in Simon Grix's view, is that they don't know any different.

"Sadly, like winning, it's something you get used to," said Hull's interim head coach.

"I don't want to speak out of turn at all but over the last few years at this club, we've got used to not being that successful so it's probably not too out of the ordinary for these young lads coming up now.

"As a collective, we can't wait two or three years to change that – it's got to start now in everything we do."

A youthful Hull side suffered a 58-0 hammering at St Helens last week to continue a miserable start to the season for the club.

Grix saw green shoots of progress, even if the scoreboard said otherwise.

"We've spoken about that competitive nature and having that fight in you in everything that you do," he added. "That has improved a bit I think.

"It's not because Tony has moved on; it's probably the reality of the situation because if it's got to the point where a coach is getting moved on and you've played a part in it, you need to frame yourself and get better.

"The performance against Saints was probably the start of showing some of that but it is just a start and there's a long way to go yet."

Logan Moy, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin and Jack Charles all started at the Totally Wicked Stadium, while Denive Balmforth, Matty Laidlaw, Will Gardiner and Zach Jebson made up an inexperienced bench.

Conscious of overexposing the academy graduates, Hull have added Tom Briscoe, Ed Chamberlain and Yusuf Aydin to their squad ahead of Sunday's home clash with Leeds Rhinos.

"He's very experienced," said Grix on Briscoe. "He's a winner and trains at a very high standard.

"Part of our growth and making ourselves better will involve bringing in some experienced players – and Tom fits the bill.

"Again, Ed is experienced and has played plenty of games against men. As much as I'm all for playing the young kids and thought they did a great job last week, playing so many at the same time is not exactly making it a great experience for them and I'm not sure it's the smartest thing to do.

"It's not through lack of trying but it's a tough ask with where our confidence has been at and so on.

"Yusuf ties directly into that. He's a young player but he's got a bit more on the board than our young lads. He's chomping at the bit to make an impression for us.

"There's a long way to go yet so the season isn't over for them but if we can save a couple of them young lads and not have to play so many together at any one time, I think that's a smart play."

Leeds are six points better off after winning four games to Hull's one but have lost their way in recent weeks.

The unconvincing start has heaped more pressure on Rohan Smith but the Rhinos boss is convinced his side are on the right track.

"We know our good patches and our good performances are very good, which is exciting," he said. "It's really positive for the players internally that when it's flowing it's really good.

"We are still a new group. This is a new way of doing things with a vastly different team and we're only eight games in.

"It's important that you go through some tough times and adversity. That's how teams are built.

"We're disappointed and not happy with the way we've missed some opportunities to get more results but at the same time, we're positive about the periods where we have been good.

"It takes time to gel as a team. You only really gel as a team once you've been through some periods. If you only ever go smooth sailing, it doesn't make for great sailors."