Hull FC head to Wigan Warriors in their penultimate away game of the season this Sunday afternoon. Here, our reporters preview the clash.
Dan Tomlinson – Hull Daily Mail
Despite Hull’s slide down the Super League table and Wigan generally being a competition force, games between the two sides have tended to be close fought affairs in recent years. In fact, of the last ten meetings, only two have been decided by more than twelve points with another five down to four points or less.
Last year, Hull won by four at home while Wigan won the reverse fixture in golden point. This year, Hull again won their home game by two. In 2022, they also only lost by one before beating Wigan by nine. Only a 60-0 mauling in 2022 and a 29-2 play-off defeat in 2020 have gone against the grain. And it’s those latter score lines that many expect will be on show in the latest meeting between the two clubs, the 67th in the Super League era.
Wigan need to win to go back level with Hull KR at the top of the Super League, and with points difference in mind, they’ll be looking for a handsome win. Hull, on the other hand, are looking to avoid a first bottom placed finish in sixty years, level on points with London after last week’s Magic Weekend debacle.
Those are the two contrasts and they couldn’t be more different. For Hull, it’s all about pride and performance. Depleted or not, they need to have some cohesion, fight, resilience, and desperation to their display, the sort that saw them hold on to defeat Wigan last time out.
Those traits haven’t been the same in the four defeats that have followed since that win, with Hull beaten against Catalans, Leigh, St Helens, and London. They need to at least break that cycle here, and regardless of what the result is, come off the field knowing that they’ve had a go, with their head held high. Prediction: Wigan by 28
Arindam Rej, Hull Daily Mail
After hitting a new low at Magic Weekend, those who care about Hull FC have every right to be upset about what they’ve seen and to expect a reaction display of professional pride, guts, and alertness, even though they are taking on big dogs, the Wigan Warriors. Yes, they are depleted. But there is a responsibility to the fans who support them and the club that pays their wages to show maximum pride. And Simon Grix deserves better than these results, considering the challenging circumstances he is dealing with.
You only have to go back to last month for some inspiration, when Hull stunned Wigan. Matty Peet’s men nilling St Helens shows the form they are in now, though, and they have a lot to play for in the midst of such a tight and competitive race for the League Leaders Shield. And the sight of Jai Field back on the field and performing isn’t what opponents love to see. But Hull should be highly motivated to avoid the wooden spoon. None of their players should want to be associated with that.
These issues have been spiralling since the days of Lee Radford, who used to say that if the players are going to lose, then there is a certain way to lose. What happened at Magic isn’t that way. So, regardless of the score line, Hull need to walk off the pitch after a display that they can hold their heads high about. Prediction: Wigan by 20
Super League Head to Head:
Played 66 – Hull wins 15 – Wigan wins 49 – Draws 2
Last ten meetings:
2024: Hull 24 Wigan 22
2023: Wigan 13 Hull 12
2023: Hull 14 Wigan 10
2022: Wigan 60 Hull 0
2022: Hull 31 Wigan 22
2022: Wigan 19 Hull 18
2021: Hull 0 Wigan 10
2021: Hull 20 Wigan 10 (played at Leeds)
2021: Wigan 16 Hull 14
2020: Wigan 29 Hull 2
Bookies say
Super League title sponsor Betfred have Wigan as massive 1/50 favourites to defeat Hull FC. The Black and Whites are priced at 12/1. The draw comes in at 28/1.
