A depleted Hull FC showed plenty of spirit in what was a heated derby.
Hull FC’s makeshift side were always going to do it tough at Hull KR, but in terms of grit, resilience and spirit, they can take a lot out of it.
That’s been the story all year from John Cartwright’s squad. No matter what the team is, they stick together, they stand up, and they have a dig. It’s a role reversal from last year, where adversity saw the worst of Hull, and a firm indicator of the progress seen this year – where a play-off finish is still within reach – and even more so if Rovers do them a favour and beat Wakefield Trinity on Saturday afternoon.
But not to digress. The Black and Whites were depleted here, but they stuck to a game plan and showed a lot of heart. Given the personnel they had out, they knew they were restricted in what they could do so they mastered some dark arts and frustrated Rovers in the process. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective and made what was supposed to be a blowout a contest – albeit one lacking much quality.
Hull were peppered in the first twenty minutes. In fact, they couldn’t get out of their own half. Rovers smothered them. They got in their faces, got numbers into the tackle, restricted metres, and ensured Hull kicked from deep. Winning the field position battle, Rovers had plenty of opportunities to score, but Hull held firm. They looked pretty comfortable defending their line, which was only breached once in the first half as Noah Booth opened the scoring.
They absorbed pressure and grew into the contest. In the first half, it was Rovers who then made uncharacteristic errors, with Hull having opportunities to strike. Zak Hardaker went close and Hull, in limited chances to throw shape at Rovers, asked a couple of questions. But Rovers too are made of stern stuff. They don’t crack lightly.
In the second half, Rovers, led by Jez Litten, who has to be in the England fold for the Ashes, stepped up. They scored through their hooker and added another through Jack Broadbent, who took advantage of Cade Cust’s preference to engage with Mikey Lewis’ niggle rather than do his job at marker. Of course, emotions run high in derbies – and sometimes they can get the better of you. That was the case here and was far from the only niggly incident in the game, incidents which got worse later on.
On that front, there were sin bins for both Yusuf Aydin and Elliot Minchella – Aydin for a hip drop on Arthur Mourgue and Minchella for a shoulder to the face of Lewis Martin – an incident which earlier this season would have seen red. Jordan Rapana was also sin-binned for a late shot on Mourgue, while perhaps the worst incident went unpunished: Jack Ashworth on Lewis, with the prop seemingly dropping an elbow onto the Rovers’ half-back’s face as he lay on the ground.
That was one of several sour-looking incidents from both sides, with some questionable antics on show as tempers boiled – many of which the MRP will look at this Monday. But as for the contest and performance as a whole, Hull, who hit back through Tom Briscoe before Tom Davies crossed over, can hold their heads high. They dug in.
They had a veteran prop in Liam Watts, who certainly stood up at the grand old age of 35, while Rapana, before his sin bin, rolled back the years – a game made for him. He ran hard throughout and made some inroads. Elsewhere, Hull also saw young prop Matty Laidlaw come out with credit, while the Kemp twins showed exactly why they are highly thought of.
Lloyd started the game at full-back and, barring one dropped high ball, showed his promise. He was brave and gutsy and carried well, breaking out of some tackles. And when he came on, Callum showed the same tenacity, getting stuck in and showing some composure. They’re only 18, and they’ve got plenty of development in them, but the promise is there to see. It’s down to both players and Hull to nurture that – with patience the name of the game.
As for Rovers, it’s another win, one that takes them to the brink of a second trophy of the year. Again led by their livewire hooker in Litten, they did enough. They were frustrated in what was a scrappy and slow game, but they were the better team and are now set to win Super League’s League Leaders Shield for the first time. Credit to them.
As John Cartwright said post-match: “They’re tough, they compete hard and they defend well. Whoever they play, it’s hard to play an open and free style of football when you’re getting pinned to the ground and you’ve got defenders up in your face all of the time; it’s really tough, and if they get that type of game, they will be really hard to beat.”
Rovers certainly got in Hull’s faces and made it that type of game early on. They go marching on after another derby win – but for both sides, the season-defining stage is still to come.