HULL DIG DEEP FOR WIN
A DEPLETED Hull FC showed grit and determination to come from behind to claim a 17-10 win over Huddersfield Giants at the MKM Stadium.
ANALYSIS
Before discussing the players in action, it’s important to acknowledge those that weren’t.
The Black and Whites were without 12 senior faces, nine through injury, while Jake Connor, Chris Satae and Andre Savelio were away with the Combined Nations All Stars taking on England.
It meant Hull were forced to dig deep into their squad with Aidan Burrell and Marcus Walker not just being named in a matchday squad for the first time, but on the bench.
Huddersfield were without their fair share of key figures, too, through injury, Covid issues and international call-ups.
As such, it might have been expected for the game to lack quality at times and in truth, both sides looked disjointed.
It was Huddersfield who grasped the initiative and went over for the first score, though, taking advantage of a mistake from Connor Wynne.
The full-back failed to claim a high kick to the corner and he could only watch on as Olly Ashall-bott claimed the ball and touched down unopposed.
Hull rallied and they did enjoy a sustained period of pressure, camped out on the Huddersfield line after forcing a couple of goal line drop outs.
However, despite the best efforts of Josh Reynolds, Joe Cator and Manu Ma’u, they couldn’t find a way through a makeshift Giants line.
Huddersfield extended their lead twice in the first half through the boot of Oliver Russell after some sloppy play from Hull forced the referee into action.
The Black and Whites came out for the second half in a determined mood, though, and it wasn’t long before they were on the board as Mahe Fonua powered through a gap and over, lifting those 5,527 fans in attendance.
Shortly after, they were on their feet again as another Hull move came off to pull them level.
Fresh from setting up Fonua for the FC’S first try, Marc Sneyd found the run of Jack Logan with a perfectly timed kick and the 25-year-old touched down on his second debut for the club.
FC were winning the arm wrestle, passes were sticking and it was only a matter of time before they hit the front for the first time of the evening through Wynne, making up for his earlier mistake by latching onto another Sneyd kick and dotting down.
And, with just four minutes lef,t Sneyd stepped up to slot his first drop-goal of the season.
KEY MOMENT : Coming out after the break, the feeling was that whoever scored the first second half try would go on to win. Fortunately for FC, it was Fonua who touched down and they built from there.
GOOD DAY FOR
Jack Logan. Things didn’t always go his way, but he kept going and got himself a try to remember on his second debut for the club. It clearly meant a lot as he punched the air in ecstasy.
BAD DAY FOR: Jordan Lane. The back-rower was due to start and named in the initial line-up only to drop out an hour before kick-off with a medical issue, believed to be a neck injury.
BIGGER PICTURE: This wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it was hard to watch at times. However, a dominant second half performance ensured Hull got the job done with a severely depleted side.
The result means Brett Hodgson’s side are now breathing down Wigan’s neck in the Super League table.
TEAMS
HULL FC: Connor Wynne,
Bureta Faraimo, Mahe Fonua, Jack Logan, Mitieli Vulikijapani, Josh Reynolds, Marc Sneyd, Ligi Sao, Jordan Johnstone, Brad Fash, Manu Ma’u, Cameron Scott, Joe Cator. Subs: Jack Brown, Aidan Burrell, Marcus Walker, Ben Mcnamara.
HUDDERSFIELD: Oliver Ashallbott; Louis Senior, Leroy Cudjoe, Sam Wood, Darnell Mcintosh; Lee Gaskell, Oliver Russell; James Gavet, Ashton Goulding, Jack Ashworth; Josh Jones, Joe Greenwood; Owen Trout. Subs: Matty English, James Cunningham, Oliver Wilson, Sam Hewitt.