Griffin’s hat-trick denies Wolves a chance for top
AJOSH Griffin hat-trick denied Warrington the chance to go back to the top of the Betfred Super League table as they were beaten 30-18 in a tight clash by Hull in the last match of the Magic Weekend in Newcastle.
A thrilling final match saw Wolves open well but Hull’s stellar start to the second half which saw them score three tries in 11 minutes turned the game around.
It was a missed opportunity for Warrington, who now sit just behind Catalans Dragons in the table, while Hull continued their good run as they made it four wins in their last five league games.
A persistent spell of pressure inside the Hull 10 metre area saw Warrington draw first blood just three minutes in.
A neat high kick from George Williams was held by Connor Wrench and the winger was able to reach over the line to ground the ball, with Stefan Ratchford adding the extras.
The Wolves’ speed on the attack was rewarded in the 12th minute when Williams pounced on a loose pass, scooping the ball up and sprinting to touch down between the posts.
Hull continued to battle and a great move saw Tex Hoy kick across goal, the ball parried down for Danny Houghton to latch on to in mid-air to cross before Jake Clifford converted.
Matt Dufty regained possession for Warrington with an excellent run from a Hull kick.
However, the Wolves was kept at bay by a solid Hull defence which made some great last-ditch blocks on their own try-line.
The Black and Whites were unable to make the most of some good chances in the final minutes of the first half but they were straight on the attack after the restart and nearly had a try through Griffin, who fell just short.
Their energetic start saw Hull score again in the 43rd minute when Clifford’s grubber-kick was chased down by Adam Swift on the wing and he did well to hang on to the ball to cross in the left corner.
The tries began to flow as Hull added another two minutes later after an excellent move saw Griffin find a gap to cut in from the left and go over, giving Hull the lead for the first time in the game.
The second rower then struck again in the 51st minute, getting on the end of Jake Truman’s cross-field kick and spinning around to touch down.
Warrington responded five minutes later with a good string of passes towards the right and Wrench made no mistake charging forward to ground in the corner for his second try of the game.
Griffin completed his hat-trick following a fine team move which saw Hoy break forward from a Warrington kick to reach the halfway line before offloading to Swift, who found Griffin and he powered over. Hull’s defence continued to show resilience on the try-line to deny Warrington in the final 10 minutes before Hoy added a fifth try for the Black and Whites, bursting through Warrington’s defence to seal victory.
Saturday results:
Leeds 24 Castleford 26, Salford 26 Hull K R 16, Wigan 22, Catalans Dragons 46.
Sunday results:
Hull 30 Warrington 18, St Helens 48 Huddersfield 6, Wakefield 4, Leigh 30.