PETER Gentle has challenged his Hull FC forwards to match a physical Bradford pack and play to their full potential at the KC Stadium tonight.
Hull's forward line was overrun by the Leeds Rhinos last week, with Gentle pointing to a slow play the ball as one of the reasons for his side being unable to build any momentum in their 36-6 defeat.
Having been in the stands to watch the Bulls' impressive victory over Wakefield in round one, the Hull coach has pointed to stopping Bradford's forwards as the key to success at the KC Stadium tonight.
"There is a challenge there for our forwards, I think it is a challenge every week," said Gentle.
"We have a very good forward pack here and I don't think people have seen the best of them.
"You may not see the best of them yet this week, but you'll see them do the little things right.
"Andy Hay and I went to watch the Bradford game and we thought they were very impressive.
"They were physical and Francis Cummins has them playing very well.
"Jarrod Sammut had a blinder, Brett Kearney played well and Jamie Foster at full-back was one of the shining lights for them, but they were all behind a very good pack going forward."
Despite missing three of his key forwards in Gareth Ellis, Danny Tickle and Liam Watts, Gentle is steadfast in his belief his pack have the ability to get the job done against the Bulls.
Describing the past week as one of frustration after a faltering start, the Aussie is refusing to be concerned and remains confident Hull will show improvement this week in their first home fixture of the season.
"We are taking small steps at the minute and we'll see where we end up," added Gentle.
"It was frustrating last week because we didn't play well and for 55 minutes it was 6-6.
"To be that close with that calibre of side against us, we can take some positives out of that.
"We had few opportunities, we couldn't generate any speed at the play the ball and defensively we were loose too.
"It has been a very frustrating week because we wanted to start the season a lot better than we did.
"We know we are nowhere near the finished article and we won't be this week, but we are inching towards that."
