Gentle blasts Thaler

Hull FC coach Peter Gentle was left fuming at the officials after his side fell to a 40-18 defeat at Warrington Wolves.

Hull were on the wrong end of a 13-6 penalty count and had Willie Manu sin-binned during the second half with the match finely balanced at 24-18. Warrington scored two tries in Manu's absence and added a further effort late on to rub salt into the wound. "The rucks were disgraceful today, they were the slowest they have been all year and unfortunately he (Ben Thaler) was only penalising one side," said Gentle. "Against a side running second on the table you need to go 50-50 with possession of the football but a with a two to one penalty count you've not a chance." Ryan Atkins scored a hat-trick of tries for the home side, while Chris Ryan, Lee Briers, Garreth Carvell and Joel Monaghan also went over as the Wolves moved to within a point of Wigan Warriors at the top of the Super League table. Warrington coach Tony Smith praised the contribution of England international Atkins. "Ryan was on fire today, in real good form. He looked sharp, powerful and speedy for most of the game," said the Wire chief.