Hull FC ran out 28-22 winners over York City Knights in a pre-season friendly at the LNER Community Stadium.
Brett Hodgson utilised his entire squad throughout the match, with the Airlie Birds having to fight off a late York comeback attempt in the first-ever rugby league fixture at the LNER Community Stadium.
Adam Swift, Mahe Fonua, Carlos Tuimavave, Manu Ma’u and Chris Satae were all on the scoresheet for the visitors, and it was Riley Dean, Ben Jones-Bishop, Liam Salter and Tyme Dow-Niaku who crossed for York in their valiant effort.
Team News
Hodgson named a strong line-up in his first match as Hull FC head coach, handing a first appearance in Black & White to new recruit Josh Reynolds.
Academy player Jacob Hookem was rewarded for his hard work with a place on the bench, alongside trialist Miteli Vulikijapani.
York didn’t risk their new signing Adam Cuthbertson, but handed first appearances to familiar faces Jones-Bishop, Ryan Atkins and Danny Kirmond, all of whom have featured regularly at Super League level.
Former long-serving Black & White Danny Washbrook started on the bench.
The Match
Hull got the scoreboard ticking with their first possession of the ball. Sneyd’s kick on the last wasn’t dealt with by the York defence, and a clever Josh Griffin offload enabled Swift to cross in the left corner. Sneyd added the extras from the touchline.
It didn’t take long for Reynolds to make his first impact, firing a perfectly weighted pass into Jake Connor, whose grubber kick was well measured into the path of Fonua, who couldn’t turn down the opportunity to score in the corner. Sneyd’s conversion made it 12-0 with little more than just five minutes played.
Hull’s steely defence was cut open after York battled hard through a 20 minute spell to get their way back into the game. A floated pass found Kieran Dixon on the wing, and his grubber kick inside found its way to Warrington loanee Dean, who scored under the sticks. Dixon’s conversion made it 12-6.
The visitors wasted no time in reasserting their dominance. Pressure on Brendan O’Hagan forced an error on the last play, and Reynolds was on hand to pick up the pieces and smartly feed Tuimavave, who demonstrated excellent evasion to avoid the tackle from Dixon. Sneyd’s conversion drifted just wide.
On the stroke of half-time, a lovely pass from Connor found Ma’u and the Tongan forward was never going to be stopped from close range. Sneyd made it 22-6 as the hooter sounded.
HALF-TIME: Hull FC 22-6 York City Knights
Hull made several changes to their side for the second half, with the introduction of Vulikijapani, Ben McNamara, Cameron Scott, Jude Ferreira and Bureta Faraimo, with Hookem, Jack Brown and Connor Wynne all joining the action early after the restart.
After some resolute try-line defence, Hull beared the fruits of their hard work at the other end of the field when Satae came onto a short pass from close range in bulldozing style to score underneath the posts. McNamara tagged on the extras.
With 15 minutes to go until the hooter, York posted their second try of the game. Jones-Bishop showed neat footwork to beat his marker and dotted the ball down. Dixon nailed the conversion.
The Knights got back-to-back tries after Hull failed to deal with a high kick, and the loose ball was dived on by Salter. Dixon missed the conversion.
In a spirited ten minutes, the Knights were back within touching distance of Hull. A grubber kick was grounded by Dow-Nikau.
FULL-TIME: Hull FC 28-22 York City Knights
Squads & Scorers
Hull FC: Jake Connor, Adam Swift, Carlos Tuimavave, Josh Griffin, Mahe Fonua, Josh Reynolds, Marc Sneyd, Ligi Sao, Danny Houghton, Chris Satae, Andre Savelio, Manu Ma’u, Jordan Lane
Hull Interchanges: Bureta Faraimo, Joe Cator, Brad Fash, Ben McNamara, Jack Brown, Josh Bowden, Connor Wynne, Cameron Scott, Jude Ferreira, Jacob Hookem, Miteli Vulikijapani.
Hull Tries: Swift, Fonua, Tuimavave, Ma’u, Satae
Hull Goals: Sneyd (3/4), McNamara (1/1)
York: Matty Marsh, Ben Jones-Bishop, Jason Bass, Ryan Atkins, Kieran Dixon, Brendan O’Hagan, Riley Dean, Ronan Dixon, Will Jubb, Jack Teanby, Sam Scott, Danny Kirmond, Jordan Baldwinson
York Interchanges: Liam Salter, Kriss Brining, Marcus Stock, James Green, Tim Spears, Joe Porter, Perry Whiteley, Dan Barcoe, AJ Towse, Myles Harrison, Danny Washbrook, Tyme Dow-Nikau
York Tries: Dean, Jones-Bishop, Salter, Dow-Nikau
York Goals: Dixon (2/3), O’Hagan (1/1)
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