Hull FC were big winners over Warrington.
Hull FC have taken Super League’s play-off race to the final regular season round after a comprehensive 34-2 victory over Warrington Wolves. The Black and Whites now face Catalans Dragons on Thursday night and for 24 hours at least, will be in a top six spot should they defeat the French side.
However, Hull didn’t get the favour they needed from Hull KR on Saturday evening, who were big losers away at Wakefield Trinity. That means the West Yorkshire-based side still hold the final play-off spot and are in the ascendancy going into next week’s final round games, where they face Salford Red Devils in what is expected to be a formality.
But going back to the penultimate affairs, John Cartwright’s side did what they needed to do. They were comfortable winners over Warrington, who, in all honesty, were nothing short of dreadful – not that it takes anything away from Hull, who played with discipline in attack before opening up on Wire once they got the measure of them. They completed at a high rate and got to the end of their sets, kicking strongly through Aidan Sezer, who, along with Zak Hardaker, led a young side superbly.
It was youth that was Hull’s biggest plaudit here. As they have been all season, Lewis Martin and Harvey Barron were excellent, with the former, one of five changes to the side, having a monster of a game. Filling out over the last 12 months, Barron has put on some sheer size, and he was strong in both attack and defence, getting over for a try, reading the plays well, running hard throughout, and, when given the opportunity, showing his lethal speed.
Elsewhere, Hull’s two young flyers were joined by Logan Moy, Davy Litten, Callum Kemp, Denive Balmforth, Will Gardiner, and Matty Laidlaw, with ten out of the matchday 17 all club-produced – and another in Lloyd Kemp coming on as the 18th man in the second half.
A measure of what the club aims to do long-term, they were good value. They played some eye-catching and fluent rugby league, with speed on show as they dismantled an opposition whose season’s end can’t come soon enough.
But the old cliche is you can only beat what’s in front of you – and Hull did that, giving their loyal fans something to shout about with a well-deserved win – their 16th in all competitions this year.
They did it with practically 16 players too, with Sam Eseh, on his return from a hamstring injury, off with an HIA within minutes of coming on and not to return. The prop looked groggy, to say the least and soon sought medical attention after a high shot from Lachlan Fitzgibbon, who was subsequently sin-binned.
That was the only sour note for Hull, despite Warrington actually taking the lead through a Marc Sneyd penalty goal. But after that, it was all one-way traffic. Hull got their surge going through Martin, who took Litten’s pass to score and then went back-to-back as Barron hit top gear, breaking on the right edge and finding Balmforth in support to slide over.
The Wire looked ragged at that point, and that was emphasised all the more as Sezer stepped his way over before the half-back turned and provided a perfectly executed grubber kick for Barron to score.
That saw Hull 22-2 to the good at half-time, and while the points didn’t come as rapidly in the second half, they didn’t let up too much. First, Jordan Lane touched down after another pinpoint Sezer kick, with Hardaker then powering his way over to score another try.
Impressively, Hull kept up their desire in defence. When Wire got their opportunity, the home side fronted up. They put their opposition in touch and took pride in keeping their try line intact. That appeased the home crowd, who will return to the MKM Stadium for one final dance against the Dragons next week.
Teams
Hull Starting XIII: 23. Logan Moy; 2. Harvey Barron, 5. Tom Briscoe, 20. Davy Litten, 22. Lewis Martin; 30. Callum Kemp, 7. Aidan Sezer; 21. Will Gardiner, 25. Denive Balmforth, 41. Liam Watts; 3. Zak Hardaker, 12. Jordan Lane; 19. Brad Fash.
Interchange: 14. Cade Cust, 27. Matty Laidlaw, 31. Hugo Salabio, 39. Sam Eseh. 18th Man: 34. Lloyd Kemp
Warrington Starting XIII: 23. Cai Taylor-Wray; 2. Josh Thewlis, 3. Toby King, 42. James Duffy, 28. Jake Thewlis; 19. Stefan Ratchford, 35. Marc Sneyd; 15. Joe Philbin, 9. Danny Walker, 27. Luke Thomas; 38. Sam Stone, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon; 40. Ryan Matterson.
Interchange: 14.. Sam Powell, 21. Adam Holroyd, 24. Max Wood, 43. Tom McKinney. 18th Man: 1. Matt Dufty
Scorers
Hull Tries: Martin, Balmforth, Sezer, Barron, Lane, Hardaker. Goals: Hardaker 5/6
Warrington Tries: N/A. Goals: Sneyd 1/1
Scoring System: 0-2, 6-2, 12-2, 18-2, 22-2, HT, 28-2, 34-2,
Referee: Tom Grant. Video Referee: Marcus Griffiths
Attendance: 10,494