Hunslet boss Gary Thornton accuses players of ‘going through the motions’

“It was a disaster,” said Thornton.

“It was terrible. I am still in shock because I didn’t see it coming.

“We were really, really poor, it was quite embarrassing.”

It was the Parksiders’ second league defeat of the season and ended their unbeaten home record just a week after they had pulled off an outstanding comeback to win at Oldham.

“They ran harder than us and tackled harder than us,” Thornton said of Skolars who are third in the table, one place behind Hunslet.

“There seemed to be a lack of desire, some players were just going through the motions.

“It is disappointing after all the hard work we had done away at Oldham and going back to Doncaster [in round one].

“It takes the gloss off those wins and now we’ve got to get one back.”

The Skolars game came in the middle of a run of four away matches and Thornton added: “We hoped to go through unbeaten at home.

“We knew there would be some tough games, but we wanted it to be a tough place to come.

“We certainly didn’t make it tough for London, which is very disappointing.”

To add to Hunslet’s woes, Adam Robinson suffered a rib injury and Josh Tonks sustained damage to a wrist.

Thornton said: “Josh was the only one who played with any real pride, he was outstanding.”

Both could be missing on Saturday when Hunslet take a break from league action to face visitors Workington Town in the opening match of the new 1895 Cup, which concludes with a final at Wembley in August.

The tie will be broadcast live on the Rugby Football League’s Our League website.