Jayden Okunbor assessment given as Hull FC Reserves edged out at St Helens
Francis Cummins is hoping Jayden Okunbor picks up some confidence after playing the full eighty minutes for Hull FC Reserves on Saturday afternoon. Okunbor featured at loose-forward as the Black and Whites went down 18-12 to St Helens in a tough, competitive game on Merseyside.
Challenged by Simon Grix pre-match to get more involved, Okunbor got into double figures with his carries, also promoting the ball in the middle of the field. Cummins, meanwhile, was content with those contributions, with his side just edged out by the Saints, who had a Noah Stephens try to thank for victory.
Before that, they took a 12-0 lead in the first half through Leon Cowen and Harry Robertson tries, before Jeylan Hodgson pegged them back, burrowing over for a try. Sully Medforth then levelled the scores in the second half before Stephens landed the decisive blow.
Speaking to Hull Live post-match, Cummins said: "It was more about getting Jayden some involvement. We just wanted to get him some minutes, he's got to go through it, and I thought he was pretty solid in what he did. He played eighty minutes, which he hasn't done yet for the first team, which is a different animal, but here it was just about him getting a bit of confidence and a bit of form.
"That's what it's about, and sometimes you need to come out of the first team and out of the firing line. Sometimes it's just about getting out there and playing. It might not be a big crowd here, but it's about getting back in there and doing a job."
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As for his side's performance, Cummins was pleased with some aspects but frustrated with others. He praised the likes of Ryan Westerman and Will Kirby, with Liam Tindall also playing on the left wing. Jack Walker, too, played the first half on his comeback from injury. Hull also drafted former academy players Junior Mafi and Jude Thompson into the side again, alongside Oliver Farrar (Featherstone) and Charlie Harris (Bradford).
"We're a bit frustrated, really," Cummins explained. "We made really hard work of it at the start. You know what you're going to get when you come to Saints; it's always a tough place to come, but we didn't finish our sets well, and there was a bit of ill-discipline in the first half.
"We did get better, but we've shown some really good things in our play over the last few weeks, and we never really got that going here. You've got to give St Helens some credit for that.
"We've had some lads come in and sometimes they don't train with you, so that can be a bit disruptive, but we still had some good performers. I thought Ryan Westerman worked really hard, Will Kirby was really good, and Liam Tindall carried really well.
"We were just a little bit disjointed this week. We played a bit naive and a bit young. Maybe sometimes you hold onto the ball and not push it as much, but that's part of their development, and at the moment we're in a good place. Generally, I'm really happy with how the academy lads are going. There's some great players coming through."
Hull Reserves Starting XIII: 1. Jack Walker; 5. Callum Shaw, 3. Oliver Farrar, 4. Ryan Westerman, 2. Liam Tindall; 6. Mackenzie Harman, 7. Sully Medforth; 8. Junior Mafi, 9. Jeylan Hodgson, 10. Jude Thompson; 11. Will Kirby, 12. Lennon Bursell; 13. Jayden Okunbor.
Interchange: 14. Will Hutchinson, 15. Lennon Clark, 16. Owen Haldenby, 19. Charlie Harris
Tries: Hodgson, Medforth. Goals: Harman 2/2
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