Hull FC move up to 6th position

by NRL

FC moved back up into sixth place on the Super League ladder with an impressive 30-10 victory over Catalan Dragons.

The Black and Whites ran in five tries in a clinical performance at the KC Stadium that saw them leapfrog Huddersfield on the table following the Giants' win at Salford City Reds on Friday night.

Hull opened the scoring through Willie Manu and winger Tom Lineham also got on the score sheet before the break, with two tries inside five minutes at the start of the second half from Chris Green and Tom Briscoe proving decisive.

Vincent Duport did add his second try of the game after the interval after he tied the scores in the 17th minute, but Jamie Foster romped in at the corner for his first try for Hull to seal it.

The Match

Hull went into the game missing centre Kirk Yeaman after the England star picked up an ankle injury in last week's loss to league leaders Wigan.

His place was taken by the returning Ben Crooks, who celebrated a new three-year contract with another impressive display on the left flank.

Meanwhile, Catalan were able to recall Clint Greenshields, Louis Anderson and Setaimata Sa to the team which lost to Huddersfield Giants last time out.

With the Dragons beating Hull 44-14 when the teams met in Perpignan a month ago, the Airlie Birds had called for a fast start to the reverse fixture at the KC Stadium and Gentle's men could have taken an early lead inside the opening five minutes after full back Tom Briscoe sliced through the Dragons defence inside his own half.

With support either side, the England international showed his unfamiliarity with the position when failing to spot Richard Whiting racing up in support on his left, opting instead to find the marked Jordan Turner on the right.

With the chance gone, the Black and Whites continued to press forward and they received their reward in the 12th minute when Willie Manu opened the scoring after a run of pressure on the opposition line.

This time, Houghton scooted down the blindside and found the Tongan international with a lovely short pass for a well-worked try under the posts.

That lead could have been doubled moments later when Tom Lineham cut through the Catalan defensive line on a kick return, only to be called back from his 70-metre dash to the line by referee Robert Hicks for obstruction.

To compound the Hull supporters' frustrations, Vincent Duport crossed in the corner in the following set for the visitors and with Scott Dureau cancelling out Jamie Foster's earlier conversion, the scores were tied at 6-6 at the end of the first quarter.

However, Hull's young winger wouldn't have to wait long to register his fourth try in as many Super League matches for the Black and Whites when he crossed nine minutes before the break to finish some more expansive rugby from FC.

With Briscoe again looking threatening on the left, Hull worked the ball to the opposite side of the field, with a cut-out pass from Ryan McGoldrick giving Turner a simple overlap and the centre made no mistake in putting Lineham over in the corner.

Foster doubled his tally for the afternoon from the touchline to give Hull a 12-6 advantage, although they were forced into some desperate defence in the closing stages to protect that lead, Briscoe making the tackle of the game when chasing back to hold up Darryl Millard over the line when the Dragons centre seemed destined to score.

The Black and Whites then began the second half in the best possible fashion with two quick-fire tries in the opening 11 minutes to take a decisive lead.

First, Gentle's men capitalised on a drop-out forced by Brett Seymour's clever chip kick, Manu again at the heart of it as he jinked back inside from the left to send youngster Chris Green crashing over under the posts for his first competitive try for the club.

Then, Briscoe did what he had threatened all match as he mopped up a Dureau kick on his line before sprinting 95 metres up the left touchline to dive over in the corner.

Foster missed the difficult extras from inches inside the whitewash but his simple conversion of Green's touchdown stretched Hull's lead to 22-6.

The winger, on loan from St Helens, then slotted over a penalty from in front of the posts to push his side further in front, although Duport crossed for his second of the afternoon shortly afterwards to keep Catalan in it.

Dureau missed the conversion from out wide, however, and with crucial errors from Anderson and Remi Casty inside Hull's red zone as the visitors pushed forward, another home win was sealed for the Black and Whites.

There was still time for the home side to put the gloss on an impressive victory though, Foster scoring his first try in Hull colours as the Airlie Birds worked the ball to the left from a scrum, before Briscoe gave the final pass.

With Foster converting his own try, the game was safe at 30-10 and saw Hull reclaim their place above Huddersfield in the chase for a home play-off tie.

Hull FC: Briscoe, Lineham, Crooks, Turner, Foster, McGoldrick, Seymour, O'Meley, Houghton, Watts, Manu, Whiting, Aspinwall.

Subs: Lynch, Heremaia, Pitts, Green

Tries: Manu, Lineham, Green, Briscoe, Foster

Goals: Foster (5/6)

Catalan Dragons: Greenshields, Blanch, Millard, Duport, Cardace, Pryce, Dureau, Ferriol, Henderson, Casty, Anderson, Raguin, Baitieri.

Subs: Sa, Mounis, Pelissier, Fakir

Tries: Duport (2)

Goals: Dureau (1/2)

Referee: T Roby

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