Marc Sneyd admitted he takes great satisfaction in proving his doubters wrong after guiding Hull FC to back-to-back Ladbrokes Challenge Cup triumphs.
The scrum-half was man of the match in Hull’s 2016 Wembley success and he delivered another kicking masterclass in Saturday’s 18-14 win over Wigan Warriors to become the first player to retain the Lance Todd Trophy outright.
Despite continuing to show his appetite for big games this year, Sneyd has still found himself the subject of criticism.
Once Hull’s celebrations die down, he can expect more complimentary social media comments than he is used to.
“I enjoy going home after a game and sitting on Twitter looking at a few people giving me stick,” Sneyd said.
“You give them a little favourite and can just imagine what they’re like sat at home snapping while you’re laughing your head off.”
Hull captain Gareth Ellis expressed his gratitude for Sneyd’s performance after he collected another winner’s medal in the final weeks of his career.
“He’s a match-winner for us and we’re very lucky to have him in our team,” Ellis said.
“Sneydy has come up trumps for us again in a big game.”
Black and Whites head coach Lee Radford echoed his skipper’s sentiments, saying: “I’m glad he’s in our side. He’s had a big impact on our club since he walked through the door.
“One thing that I admire about him most is the criticism he’s had to receive playing that position at this club.
“If he’s not winning people over now, I don’t think he’s ever going to.”
In a match which evoked memories of the classic 1985 final rather than the damp squib of 2013, Sneyd’s kicking proved the difference.
He terrorised Wigan with his kicking out of hand and nailed some difficult conversions, in contrast to George Williams who missed two of his three attempts.
Mahe Fonua’s second try appeared to put Hull out of sight but Joe Burgess’ late effort set up a grandstand finish.
“I said I wanted an entertaining game, but not that entertaining,” Radford joked.
“I wanted the game in the bag a little bit earlier. But there were some phenomenal efforts in defence.”
Ellis will retire at the end of the season and the 36-year-old was delighted to sign off from Wembley in style.
“A Challenge Cup win is special regardless, but obviously knowing I’ll never get this opportunity to do it again, it’s huge,” Ellis said.
“It’s huge for the club. We spoke about how we want to be consistently challenging for trophies and to win two on the bounce is massive.
“We’ve made history at the club.”
Wigan played their part in a thrilling contest and thought they had levelled the scores in the final minute, only for Burgess’ try to be ruled out for a forward pass.
“We had a chance at the end, whether we deserved it or not I’m not sure,” Warriors head coach Shaun Wane said.
“The way we started the second half – we had a 58 per cent completion rate in a Challenge Cup final and that’s not going to win it.
“We kicked out on the full, they kicked a 40/20 and we gave away a penalty on the last tackle.
“You’re never going to win it like that. We weren’t good enough.”