Lee Radford thrilled with Hull FC performance in derby win
Last Updated: 01/06/15 1:00pm
Lee Radford was delighted to see Hull FC set the record straight with victory over Hull KR at Magic Weekend.
A 20-6 home reversal at the start of April provided Radford with one of the lowest points of his 18-month reign, but a run of seven wins out of nine since then has flipped their fortunes on their head.
This 46-20 triumph will undoubtedly be the sweetest of those victories - and a record win over the Robins in Super League to boot - and Radford was a happy man come the end.
"I thought it was a dominant performance," Radford said, after a hat-trick from Fetuli Talanoa had powered his side.
"We were playing against some quality opposition and to get the result in the manner we got it was really pleasing.
"The players were stinging from the last time we played them and I thought physically we really dominated them. We're starting to look a side now."
Decked in the black and white of regular St James' Park tenants Newcastle United, Hull's fans had plenty to celebrate and Radford afforded himself the time to reflect on the Easter loss, which is looking more and more like a turning point.
"It was a real difficult result. The manner of the performance was really disappointing," he added.
"We are playing a bit more as well now. I don't know how or why it happened, but we went into our shells a bit. And when we have our strongest side on the field we look a team.
"It was a fantastic occasion and really surreal to watch. When we play each other at home there's a lot of hatred in the stands. You had that here, with the hatred at either end but lots of love from the drunk neutrals in the middle!"
Beaten Rovers boss Chris Chester admitted his side had got what they deserved.
Short of cancelling out Kirk Yeaman's seventh-minute opener - his 150th try for Hull - the Robins were never on an equal footing.
"I thought we had made good strides in the last few weeks defensively but we weren't at the races today," Chester said.
"We got dominated by a good Hull FC side for 80 minutes.
"We lacked intensity and aggression and that's not been us for the last few weeks. Hull seemed to get their noses through the line at every opportunity and we struggled to contain them. It's not been a great day."