Darnell McIntosh starred in a 58-12 win for Hull FC Reserves over Newcastle Thunder Reserves this afternoon, chipping in with a try, five assists and seven goals.
The Black & Whites ran in a total of eleven tries at the University of Hull, returning to winning ways in the Reserves Championship.
Lewis Martin, Callum Shaw, Harvey Barron and Jeylan Hodgson crossed for first-half tries, before Hull peeled clear of their North East counterparts after the break.
The Match
After a cagey opening ten minutes, it took some Super League quality to open the scoring as McIntosh’s bullet cutout pass sent Martin in at the left corner.
But having matched Hull’s intensity early on, Newcastle got a deserved response when Olly Bibby hit back-rower Dan White on a short lead from close range.
The arm wrestle continued after Thunder attained a slender lead, but Hull prevailed in the battle as Barron executed a glorious flick pass to Shaw, who had a walk in at the right corner, putting FC back in front.
McIntosh claimed his second assist of the afternoon thanks to tidy footwork to evade onrushing winger Alex Young, before floating a looped pass to Barron, who strolled in for FC’s third of the match.
A fourth was only just around the corner, and it wasn’t Hull’s only quickfire double of the game. Hodgson skittled three defenders to power over from dummy half just a couple of minutes before half-time.
HALF-TIME: Hull Reserves 20-6 Thunder Reserves
An impressive opening few minutes from Hull’s middles set the platform for a confident second-half performance from the Black & Whites’ Reserves, as Matty Laidlaw and Will Gardiner went on to complete 70-minute and 80-minute performances, respectively.
Martin claimed his second try of the game just six minutes into the second-half when he broke through a tackle and pinned the ears back to score in the left corner from 40 metres out thanks to lightening pace.
Zach Jebson then opened his try-scoring account, latching onto the end of McIntosh’s short pass to canter in courtesy of his well-timed lead line.
Gardiner was the next beneficiary of McIntosh’s charitable mood. The fullback bounced off a couple of lax tackle-attempts, before finding the prop on his inside shoulder, who made light work of scoring underneath the uprights.
Having taken their foot off the pedal somewhat, Hull found themselves in a rare spell of defensive mode. Despite their best attempts to repel a number of Thunder attacks, Evan Simons managed to squirm over from dummy half, using the post pad to his aid in evading the scrambling Hull rear guard.
Conceding a second try of the afternoon didn’t seem to affect Hull’s confidence and go-forward all that much. Hodgson, still reeling from his first-half try from dummy-half, repeated the feat to take the hosts past the 40-point mark.
Straight from the kick-off, the Airlie Birds scored arguably their best try of the match. The ball was shifted left on play one from the restart, with Martin making a mercurial break and sending Manoa Wacokecoke streaking away down the left wing.
McIntosh claimed his fifth assist of the afternoon with another variation of passing technique – this time dunking the ball over the head of a Newcastle defender in basketball-style to allow Jude Ferreira to dot down in the right corner.
Having performed so selflessly throughout the match, McIntosh crossed the whitewash for a deserved try in the closing minutes when he got on the end of a Jebson break from inside his own hands, racing clear of Mac Walsh’s commendable defensive effort.
FULL-TIME: Hull Reserves 58-12 Thunder Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: McIntosh, Barron, Shaw, Wacokecoke, Martin, Charles, Medforth, Gardiner, Moy, Laidlaw, Stewart, Jebson, Stipetic
Hull Interchanges: Dulson, Ferreira, Hodgson, Thompson
Hull Tries: Martin (2), Shaw, Barron, Hodgson (2), Jebson, Gardiner, Wacokecoke, Ferreira, McIntosh
Hull Goals: Medforth (0/1), McIntosh (7/10)
Thunder: Flanagan, Young, Walsh, White, Cullen, Hepple, Bibby, Stoker, Simons, Rushworth, Siddle, Anderson, Walton
Thunder Interchanges: Linton, Lowery, Skelton, Wildish
Thunder Tries: White, Simons
Thunder Goals: Hepple (2/2)
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