Hull FC hammered Huddersfield Giants at the MKM Stadium.
Hull FC celebrate Logan Moy’s try. (Image: SW PIX)
Late Hull FC coach John Kear built his greatest teams on belief, spirit, and teamwork. And watching from the team in the sky as the club paid tribute pre-match to the man who masterminded their 2005 Challenge Cup success, it’s fair to say he would have been proud of that one.
Sure, it wasn’t the greatest game of rugby league, with Huddersfield Giants continuing a woeful run as Hull ran out 36-6 winners on their return to the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but in terms of showing grit, in terms of standing firm and doing your job for the teammate next to you, the Black and Whites, heavily depleted and without 15 players due to injury and suspension, came up trumps.
Rounding off their popular Hull and Proud week, Andy Last’s side were resilient, gritty, and spirited and got the job done to record a much-needed win after four successive defeats. They defended tough throughout, and after trailing the game early on, they responded in professional fashion, turned Huddersfield away, and got their reward at the other end, eventually running away with the contest and scoring some easy-on-the-eye tries in the process.
At the halfway stage of the season, Hull, led superbly by another superb performance from Logan Moy, fully deserved their fifth win from their opening 14 games, and while the play-offs, still eight points away, look a tall order, the side have to keep going. They can’t afford to wither away; they have to keep fighting, and to their credit, that’s exactly what they’re doing.
In recent defeats, nobody could question Hull’s effort, but they lacked that bit of quality to get over the line. They didn’t ice their opportunities, but against Huddersfield, who remain rooted to the foot of the table, they did the opposite. When they created, they scored, and eventually they got the scoreboard relief their performance deserved.
Making three changes to his side, Last brought in Jed Cartwright for the first time since February, while loan forward Max Wood debuted off the bench. Will Hutchinson also came in, with Zak Hardaker, Cade Cust, and Matty Laidlaw dropping out.
After an even opening to the game, it was the Giants who opened the scoring through Oliver Russell, who took Joe Greenwood’s offload to dive over the try line. However, the Black and Whites soon stepped it up, with Amir Bourouh scooting from deep and bursting through a gap before finding Moy in support. The full-back did the rest, finishing under the sticks for a terrific try.
Hull, who fronted up defensively, with Harvie Hill producing a try-saving tackle to hold up Fenton Rogers, then hit the front through Jake Arthur, who exchanged passes with Cartwright to score.
That was as good as the first half got, with Bourouh perhaps lucky to stay on the field after a dangerous-looking contact on Mattieu Cozza. The incident was placed on report, not that it took a shine off a first half that saw the home side 12-6 to the good.
Hull continued to stand tall defensively at the start of the second half, with Moy, together with Tom Briscoe, holding up Connor Wrench near the try line and, with the aid of more cover defence, forcing the Giants centre into touch.
Tom Burgess was then held up over the line as Hull’s defence stayed firm. And in their next good ball set, they made it count at the other end, with Arthur’s deft kick finding Ethan O’Neill to score his first try for the club.
Bourouh then scooted over the line to add Hull’s fourth try, and after Aidan Sezer landed a penalty goal, it was just a case of how many. And Hull weren’t done. Crisply passing the ball, the FC side worked the ball to their right edge, with O’Neill running strong and Moy in support to race away. The full-back found Harvey Barron, who finished in the corner.
Spreading the ball again, Hull got their sixth and final try as Arthur and Sezer combined well to put O’Neill over before Huddersfield then got a consolation try to end 36 successive Hull points.
It was Wrench who got over the line, but little did it matter, with Hull’s fans chanting Kear’s name long after the full-time whistle, who will, no doubt, be smiling up there with his Black and White shirt on. A satisfactory day at the office, albeit tougher tests are to come.
Teams
Hull Starting XIII: 24. Logan Moy; 2. Harvey Barron, 39. Ethan O’Neill, 32. Lloyd Kemp, 19. Tom Briscoe; 6. Jake Arthur, 7. Aidan Sezer; 38. Jeremiah Mata’utia, 9. Amir Bourouh, 10. Harvie Hill; 11. Joe Batchelor, 12. Jed Cartwright; 30. Will Kirby
Interchange: 8. Herman Ese’ese, 26. Hugo Salabio, 29. Will Hutchinson, 40. Max Wood
18th Man: 36. Lennon Clark
Huddersfield Starting XIII: 21. George Flanagan; 4. Taane Milne, 3. Jacob Gagai, 34. Connor Wrench, 41. Lee Kershaw; 6. Tui Lolohea, 32. Oliver Russell; 14. Fenton Rogers, 9. Zac Woolford, 23. Chris Patolo; 17. Joe Greenwood, 11. Asher O’Donnell; 8. Tristan Powell.
Interchange: 10. Tom Burgess, 16. George King, 20. Mattieu Cozza, 40. Cole Geyer
18th Man: 18. Kieran Rush
Scorers
Hull Tries: Moy, Arthur, O’Neill 2, Bourouh, Barron. Goals: Sneyd 6/7
Huddersfield Tries: Russell, Wrench. Goals: Russell 1/1, Flanagan 1/1
Scoring System: 6-0, 6-6, 12-6, HT, 18-6, 24-6, 26-6, 30-6, 36-6, 36-12, FT
Referee: Tara Jones. Video Referee: Aaron Moore
Attendance: 12,057