Hull FC Academy scored six tries against Newcastle Thunder Under 18s as they made it back-to-back wins at the start of their 2022 campaign.
The Black & Whites cruised into a commanding 30-4 lead ahead of the interval at Kingston Park thanks to tries from Manoa Wacokecoke, Keiran Masike, Lewis Martin and a Nick Staveley brace.
A spirited Newcastle emerged from the sheds in the second-half, though, as James Snowden completed a hat-trick for the hosts, but the visiting scrum-half Sully Medforth complemented a 100% goal-kicking record with a solo-second-half try for Hull, who ended the evening at the top of the Academy Championship table.
The Match
The Black & Whites drew first blood thanks to some ingenuity from Medforth in the middle of the field, executing a measured cross-field kick which was collected and scored by Wacokecoke.
Newcastle responded swiftly when Oliver Shaw’s cutout ball to Snowden saw Hull punished for conceding back-to-back penalties inside their own half.
Determined to get back on the straight and narrow, Masike got Hull back into the lead when he acrobatically dived in at the corner.
That was shortly followed by a quickfire Staveley double, demonstrating his sheer power and brute strength in close proximity to the whitewash on both occasions.
FC rounded off an excellent first half when a sweeping move to the left flank saw Martin put on the afterburners and round the fullback, giving the visitors an impressive, yet deserved, 30-4 lead at the interval.
HALF-TIME: Thunder 4-30 Hull
Thunder forged their second try of the evening in exactly the same manner in which they scored their first as Shaw’s well-weighted cutout ball was claimed and scored in the corner by Snowden – almost a carbon copy of the first.
Having ridden a stormy ten-minute period on their own try line, the Black & Whites had opportunities to inflict further pain on Newcastle at the other end, but Wacokecoke and Medforth couldn’t quite execute opportunities from dangerous positions.
Medforth did have a moment to celebrate five minutes later, though. He was in support when Matty Laidlaw made a rampaging run down the middle of the park, with the halfback profiting from the prop’s offload to dot down underneath the sticks.
However, bad habits started to creep in for Hull on the discipline front in the final fifteen minutes and Snowden completed his hat-trick just two minutes before full-time, once again thanking his halfback Shaw for a cutout pass to the left corner.
FULL-TIME: Thunder 14-36 Hull
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Opie-Palmer, Masike, Jebson, Wacokecoke, Martin, Worthington, Medforth, Laidlaw, Balmforth, Radford, Severs, Bursell, Staveley
Hull Interchanges: Mafi, Moy, Stipetic, Wright
Hull Tries: Wacokecoke, Masike, Staveley (2), Martin, Medforth
Hull Goals: Medforth (6/6)
Thunder: Bradley, Murtagh, Ikwue, Rennison, Snowden, Groves, Shaw, Skelton, McDermott, Lowery, Giles, Thompson, Crossley
Thunder Interchanges: Lintin, Ohimor, Parks, Redding
Thunder Tries: Snowden (3)
Thunder Goals: Shaw (1/3)
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