IT’S HELL FOR KELL
Aussie limps off as Hull crash
ALBERT KELLY’S week to forget ended with him limping off injured as Tony Gigot’s late drop goal saw Hull crash at Catalans.
Stand-off Kelly endured a week in the spotlight after a video emerged on social media of him allegedly verbally abusing a woman in McDonald’s late at night.
The Black and Whites dealt with the matter internally, Kelly was cleared to play and had looked dangerous.
But the Australian was forced off with a leg issue in the 53rd minute and the Dragons capitalised with a dramatic late win that eased the pressure on coach Steve McNamara.
Debutant Josh Drinkwater’s late penalty for a ball steal on former Hull man Sam Moa looked to have clinched the points.
But then Jake Connor – fresh out of the sin bin – responded with his own two points following a Louis Anderson high tackle to level the scores. It took the scruffiest of drop goals from Gigot to split the teams and confirmed just a third league win of the season for the Dragons.
Kelly’s injury capped a tough night for the visitors, who lost another playmaker in the final quarter when Jordan Abdull was stretchered off.
Kelly’s involvement started in the fourth minute as his superb 40/20 created the position for Scott Taylor to crash over.
Brayden Wiliame responded for Catalans, but Hull regained control when Hakim Miloudi stepped over. The Dragons went ahead for the first time with two quick tries from Drinkwater and Gigot soon after the restart.
Kelly’s superb offload released England prop Taylor, who sprinted clear and stepped past Gigot for an unlikely front rower’s try.
Connor and Drinkwater twice swapped penalties before Gigot’s one-pointer settled matters. SCORERS CATALANS DRAGONS: Tries: Wiliame, Drinkwater, Gigot. Goals: Drinkwater (6). Drop Goals: Gigot. HULL FC: Tries: Taylor (2), Miloudi. Goals: Connor (6).