A resilient performance from the Black & Whites saw them claim an impressive 14-8 victory over Catalans Dragons on Sunday evening.
The Black & Whites showed some gritty defence throughout the contest, with first-half tries from Jordan Lane and Chris Satae enough to see Hull over the line for their fourth win in a row on home soil.
The Dragons hit back with a try from Mitchell Pearce in the closing stages, but Brett Hodgson’s men held on for a win that sees them climb to fourth in the table.
Team News
Brett Hodgson made three changes to the side that lined up against Warrington on Easter Monday, with Danny Houghton coming back into the squad to make his 400th career appearance, while Scott Taylor also made his long awaited return from injury with his first appearance in 241 days following successive injuries in 2021 and pre-season.
Josh Reynolds also came back into the side having missed out earlier this week, with Connor Wynne, Josh Bowden, and Luke Gale all dropping out of the squad.
Hull remained without Adam Swift, Josh Griffin, Cameron Scott and Ben McNamara on the injury front, while,Joe Cator and Andre Savelio continue to sit on the sidelines with their season ending injuries.
The Match
After an end-to-end start to the game with the ball staying in play for the opening ten minutes, Hull enjoyed the better field position and made it count. Jordan Lane showed some lovely dancing feet to skip through the Dragons defence and touch down under the posts with 17 minutes on the clock. Connor added the goal.
Hull were dealt ablow when they lost Kane Evans to a head injury, but shortly after saw Scott Taylor take to the field for the first time since August 2021 as he came on from the interchange bench.
The Dragons hit back with their first of the game just short of the half-hour mark; a well-timed grubber from Josh Drinkwater was pounced on by Fouad Yaha, who became Catalans joint all-time leading try scorer. Morgue missed the kick.
Hull quickly regained the lead through Chris Satae – the powerful Tongan prop took a short ball from Danny Houghton close to the line, and after a video referee referral, was deemed to have grounded the ball. Connor made it two with the boot.
Half-Time: Hull FC 14-4 Catalans Dragons
Hull’s impressive second-half defence was finally breached when Mitchell Pearce reached out to touch down from close range with 13 minutes on the clock. Morgue missed the kick to leave them six points behind.
The Dragons piled on the pressure in the closing stages but FC’s defence held firm.
Connor had a chance to seal victory with five minutes on the clock with a penalty goal attempt from half-way, but it felt just inches short of the crossbar.
However, the additional two points wasn’t needed for FC as they kept the Dragons out despite a flurry of attacks in the final minutes.
Full-Time: Hull FC 14-8 Catalans Dragons
Squads:
Hull FC: Jake Connor, Darnell McIntosh, Carlos Tuimavave, Mitieli Vulikijapani, Jamie Shaul, Josh Reynolds, Joe Lovodua, Ligi Sao, Danny Houghton, Kane Evans, Manu Ma’u, Jordan Lane, Brad Fash.
Interchange: Chris Satae, Jack Brown, Jordan Johnstone, Scott Taylor
Catalans:Arthur Morgue, Tom Davies, Matthieu Laguierre, Tyrone May, Fouad Yaha, Mitchell Pearce, Josh Drinkwater, Gil Dudson, Michael McIlorum, Dylan Napa, Matt Whitley, Benjamin Jullien, Ben Garcia.
Interchange:Alrix Da Costa, Paul Seguier, Mickael Goudemand, Sam Kasiano
Scorers:
Hull FC Tries: Lane (17), Satae (32)
Hull FC Goals: Connor (2/2)
Catalans Tries: Yaha (28), Pearce (67)
Catalans Goals; Morgue (0/2)
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