Hull FC Academy picked up from where they left off in 2022 with a 36-10 victory over Bradford Bulls Under 18s at the University of Hull this afternoon.
Hull’s spine dazzled on the day, as three of the scorers were graduates from the club’s Scholarship programme, making their Academy debuts.
Adding to a Roman Dawson brace and tries from Jack Charles and Ryan Westerman; Logan Moy, Ryan Westerman and Lennon Bursell also crossed the whitewash in a comfortable Round One win for Hull’s youngsters.
The Match
After an attritional start to the match, Hull drew first blood thanks to some lovely ball movement in the middle of the field. Mackenzie Harman, playing at loose forward, with quick hands put Kye Armstrong through a hole and he had Charles haring up on the inside to score on his Academy debut.
But encouraged by their strong start with the ball, the Bulls responded when George Rayner split the markers from dummy half and escaped the clutches of the Hull fullback to score from 40 metres out.
Moments after Hull thought they had hit back through Joe Ward in the corner, only for it to be ruled out by the touch judge, Moy had the Bradford centre in a twist thanks to his dazzling footwork, slicing through the line and reaching out to restore the hosts’ lead.
Bradford’s discipline waned after conceding a second, and a third try soon followed. Charles, who had opened the scoring, turned provider with a delicious short pass to put Westerman through for his debut try.
The visitors hung on in there and almost scored through a half-break, but Sully Medforth and Callum Shaw combined to hold Rayner up virtually on the try line. But from the play-the-ball, dummy half Sam Ackroyd floated a pass out towards the left wing, where George West had a walk in.
The Black & Whites’ youngsters were a deadly threat from scrum plays last year, and they look to continue that form this year. So Michael Shenton will have been delighted to see his spine players link up gloriously to send Dawson over the try line in the left corner just before half-time.
HALF-TIME: Hull Academy 20-10 Bulls Academy
Hull made it a three-score lead early in the second half – once again Bradford’s ill-discipline costing them dearly. Will Hutchinson picked the perfect pass out of dummy half, finding big prop forward Dulson, who crashed over beneath the sticks.
The hosts continued to build pressure throughout the second-half, limiting their West Yorkshire counterparts to little possession inside the Hull half.
Eventually, FC had their sixth try and it was another demonstration of Hull’s rapid ball movement. Sully Medforth found Dawson on the left wing, and the youngster put pedal to the metal to blister his way down the touchline and slide over to score.
Hull’s spine had performed strongly throughout the match and they combined to set up a seventh try. Bursell, who scored in the Reserves’ win over London last weekend, had another try after latching onto Medforth’s pass.
FULL-TIME: Hull Academy 36-10 Bulls Academy
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Moy, Shaw, Westerman, Dawson, Ward, Charles, Medforth, Thompson, Hodgson, Stipetic, Armstrong, Bursell, Harman
Hull Interchanges: Dulson, Hutchinson, Kirby, Wainhouse
Hull Tries: Charles, Moy, Westerman, Dulson, Dawson (2), Bursell
Hull Goals: Harman (2/5), Medforth (2/2)
Bulls: Rayner, Sayner, West, G Hough, Veerasamy, Milnes, Perkins, Gill, Ackroyd, L Hough, Goldthorpe-Smith, Bateman, Magson
Bulls Interchanges: Beattie, Lawford, Mawson, Tierney
Bulls Tries: Rayner, West
Bulls Goals: Ackroyd (1/2)
STORY SPONSOR
