BEN Galea says he's been frustrated by his early season performances but is confident he'll improve if Hull FC use him more.
The second-row admits he's been unhappy both from a personal and team point of view following a difficult start for Hull, which culminated in a poor display at Widnes last week.
Scoring his first try for the Black and Whites at Widnes, the former Hull KR captain appeared to be getting back to his best in the first half before his side imploded after the break.
Admitting a poor completion rate is making it difficult for Hull to get the ball out wide to utilise their strike players, Galea says addressing that issue is the first priority and key to the likes of him and Kirk Yeaman having a bigger influence in games.
"My big issue is I've not been getting any ball and it has been frustrating the hell out of me, to be honest," Galea told the Mail.
"I have spoken to Pete and the halves about using me more and in the first half at Widnes it was fantastic.
"I was getting the ball I was hoping to get and I started to play like I can play.
"It doesn't help having different halves combinations and Yeamo is just as frustrated as I am.
"I haven't been happy with how I have been playing because I feel like I can play better than I am, but with more ball hopefully it will come.
"The plan is to try and get more ball to our edge, but our problem is we have been turning the ball over in our sets and in our own end.
"I don't think we've had 50 per cent of the ball all year.
"The first thing we have to sort is our completion and if we can do that, then we can get more ball to our edge."
Galea has featured in every game for Hull so far this season, but like his centre partner Yeaman he's been starved of service on a left side that has seen three different players operate there from half-back.
Signed on a one-year deal, the 34-year-old is eager to lead from the front in a difficult period for the Black and Whites.
Hull sit 12th in the Super League table going into tomorrow night's game against a Castleford team one place above them. A return of one win and a draw from their opening five games was not the start coach Peter Gentle or his players had anticipated.
Gentle is refusing to panic and that approach has fed down to his players, with Galea confident Hull can turn things around through simple hard work.
"We have got together as a group and talked about why we have felt we under performed. We have been honest with each other, but in the end it comes down to hard work," adds Galea.
"We need to work harder and take more sacrifices to improve because at the moment we are not good enough.
"If you look back at our first four games there were bits and pieces there where you can say there are positives we can take away.
"Then we took a huge step backward last weekend and that is the frustrating part.
"What's frustrating is the fact we didn't get beaten by really good play, we shot ourselves in the foot.
"We completed 40 per cent and that is simply not good enough.
"We have a good core of the team, but a bunch of individuals doesn't make a good team and we need to start playing as a group."
