Hull FC Under 18s and Hull KR Under 18s battled it out for a hard-fought point in the final game of the Academy Championship season.
Having established an early 12-0 lead through tries from Mason Opie-Palmer and Callum Shaw, the Robins pulled back onto level terms at the break through tries from Jack Handley and Louix Gorman.
Early second-half tries from Owen Maull and Kieran Smith put KR in the ascendency early in the second half, but Hull dug deep and scored through Lewis Martin and Kye Armstrong to get the scores back to 22-22 as FC head on towards the play-offs.
The Match
The Black & Whites got the perfect Derby start when Mackenzie Harman forced an early error from KR fullback Harvey Horne as he failed to take in a towering kick. From the resulting set, the FC shifted the ball to the right and Opie-Palmer managed to slice through the onrushing defenders to score.
Hull KR had little possession in goodball early on and that was soon reflected on the scoreboard when Logan Moy managed to smuggle an offload away to Shaw to dive in at the right corner.
Hull saw their early 12-0 advantage halved as Handley took in a short pass at the line to pierce through and power past Moy at fullback.
The Robins had enjoyed a sustained period of goodball and the visitors drew level out of the back of the scrum, with Gorman squeezing through a narrow gap in the FC defence.
HALF-TIME: Hull 12-12 Robins
If Hull started the first-half well, then they experienced a completely polar opposite start to the second-half, as Shaw spilled the ball into touch from the kick-off. From the resulting set, Maull took in a flat pass and got low to ground the ball.
With Hull forward Jude Thompson sent to the sin-bin for a trip shortly after Maull’s try, FC’s backs were up against the wall once again, and just before the front-rower returned from his 10-minute spell on the sidelines, Smith got on the end of a Jack Potter grubber kick to give the Robins a 10-point lead with 25 minutes remaining.
But FC responded valiantly and Martin pulled Michael Shenton’s side back into the contest, taking in a Manoa Wacokecoke pass to slide in at the left corner.
Some Hull KR ill-discipline invited the Black & Whites closer to levelling up and they cashed in on the opportunity when Armstrong was put through a hole to score by Sam Richards. But Sully Medforth couldn’t keep his 100% kicking record for the afternoon, leaving the scores locked at 22-22 with just over five minutes to go.
In a desperately nerve-wracking final minute of the game, the KR spectators were celebrating as they thought Korben Pratt had raced 70 metres to win the game, but Opie-Palmer and Martin were involved in a sensational cover tackle to ensure the Robins’ back-rower was held up just shy of the whitewash.
The visitors lost all composure on the next play, with Smith’s grubber kick fielded by Martin. The Hull winger offloaded to Medforth, who blistered down the left touchline in an attempt to snatch victory, but he was eventually hauled down by the desperate Hull KR defenders and the chance went begging.
FULL-TIME: Hull 22-22 Robins
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Moy, Shaw, Opie-Palmer, Wacokecoke, Martin, Medforth, Harman, Mafi, Chapman-Peterson, Dulson, Masike, Jebson, Armstrong
Hull Interchanges: Bursell, Richards, Thompson, Walker
Hull Tries: Opie-Palmer, Shaw, Martin, Armstrong
Hull Goals: Medforth (3/4)
Robins: Horne, Collingwood, Gorman, Hassard, Krebs, Ellis, Potter, Price, Bellard, Handley, Maull, Pratt, Beet
Robins Interchanges: Chambers, Parkinson, Rusling, Smith
Robins Tries: Handley, Gorman, Maull, Smith
Robins Goals: Potter (3/4)
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