Alfie Oldridge scored four tries on his Academy debut as Hull FC’s Under 18s dominated a physical encounter to beat Huddersfield 48-16 this afternoon.
Brandon Wright and Manoa Wacokecoke scored in the first half to give the Black & Whites a commanding 28-6 lead at the break.
Sully Medforth and Denive Balmforth also got in on the scoring act in the second half to help Michael Shenton’s side maintain their unbeaten start to 2022.
The Match
Hull got the dream start when Huddersfield coughed up possession straight from the kick-off. The visitors stayed patient in the set and pulled the trigger down the right edge, with quick hands sending Oldridge in at the corner.
Having won the early territory battle, Hull punished Huddersfield for a second time when Wright broke through the defensive line and rounded the fullback to score.
The visitors were pegged back when they allowed the Giants to build a head of steam with four straight sets. Eventually, the pressure told as Ethane Wainwright supplied Ryan Joseph with the ball to allow the Huddersfield centre to score in the right corner.
After an attritional period midway through the first half, a ruthless spell just seven minutes from half-time put Hull in a dominant position.
Wacokecoke got a quickfire double just after the half-hour mark, exhibiting both his raw speed and brute strength to score either try.
That was after Oldridge cantered in at the right corner for his second try of the afternoon thanks to some slick hands from the deputising fullback Logan Moy.
HALF-TIME: Giants 6-28 Hull
FC seized the initiative after 50 minutes following a scratchy start to the second half – again quick hands allowing Oldridge to stroll in at the right corner.
The Giants were in no mood to roll over and allow Hull’s youngsters bully them, and it was a dominant spell of their own that yielded two quickfire tries to get them back into the contest.
First, Wainwright scampered over from dummy half after some admirable scramble defence from the Airlie Birds. Then, Ben Dean took on the defensive line and managed to snake out an arm to score, handing Huddersfield some hope of a miraculous comeback with 25 minutes still remaining.
However, Hull did well to wrestle back the impetus in the match at the crucial stage, and Balmforth’s try just past the hour mark stripped the Giants of any belief they had of completing that comeback. Just eight days after his try-scoring debut for the Black & Whites, a lovely, enterprising move with Junior Mafi saw the 18-year-old dot down under the uprights.
Speaking of debuts, Oldridge’s first outing for Hull’s Academy got even better when he dived in at the right corner to score his fourth try of the game, once again owing the thanks to his centre Masike for the early ball.
The rubber stamp was put on the victory for the Black & Whites’ youngsters when the halfback general Medforth danced through the defensive line and put his toe down to score under the posts from 40 metres out.
It’s now five wins from five games at the start of the Academy Championship for Hull’s Under 18s and their attention will now turn to a meeting with Castleford Tigers Under 18s in just under a fortnight.
FULL-TIME: Giants 16-48 Hull
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Moy, Martin, Wacokecoke, Masike, Oldridge, Balmforth, Medforth, Radford, Richards, Laidlaw, Wright, Bursell, Armstrong
Hull Interchanges: Jebson, Mafi, Stipetic, Yeaman
Hull Tries: Oldridge (4), Wright, Wacokecoke (2), Balmforth, Medforth
Hull Goals: Medforth (6/9)
Giants: Wainwright, Downey, Joseph, Carter, Whitford, Copley, Dean, Mackay-Gunn, Morley, Rhodes, Billington, Peel, Lyne
Giants Interchanges: Gibson, Greensmith, Nash, Siddique
Giants Tries: Joseph, Wainwright, Dean
Giants Goals: Whitford (2/3)
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