Hull FC’s Wheelchair side fell agonisingly short of a play-off spot in their final league outing of the season on Saturday, going down 32-10 to the Warriors.
A brace from Martin Norris wasn’t enough to claim the victory for the visitors as the final twenty minutes proved decisive for the third placed Warriors in a fixture where defences were on top until the final stages.
Team News
Hull started the match with five players, meaning the Black & Whites had no interchanges available throughout the contest.
FC were without key players including Billy Swainger, Steve Sampher and Michael Midgley.
The Airlie Birds did though welcome back returning Mike Swainger as the side gave one final push towards what would have been their first Super League play-offs.
Match Report
Both teams got the scoreboard ticking in the opening ten minutes with both Wigan’s Chris Greenhalgh and Hull FC’s Martin Norris crossing over.
Both sides continued to be competitive after they both created chances off the back of goal line drop outs but it was Wigan who added to their slim lead thanks to international Adam Rigby.
Hull found their way back into the game as chances came for both Tristan Norfolk and Nathan Sherwood, but the home side managed to keep a hold of the lead as Phil Roberts scored his first of the afternoon.
Despite a lack of numbers, the FC try line defence was strong as the Wigan team were unable to score for the rest of the half even though they had two further goal line drop outs.
Half-Time: Wigan Warriors 16 – 4 Hull FC
Hull came out firing in the second half as an interception from Josh Edwards gave FC the chance they needed to score as Martin Norris went over for his second try of the match.
The Black & Whites maintained pressure for the next twenty minutes as they created chances for Norris and Swainger and managed to quieten the Wigan attack.
However, Matt Wooloff scored Wigan’s fourth of the match just minutes before a controversial call went against Hull’s player-coach Mike Swainger as the visitors looked to be in with a chance to re-enter the match.
Wigan sealed the win with five minutes left as Jack Heggie and Roberts crossed over for two tries in the space of two minutes as the fatigue started to set in for the visitors.
A late consolation try was disallowed for the Hull side as the referee deemed that Nathan Sherwood hadn’t grounded the ball over the line in the final minutes of play.
The result meant that finished the season in fifth place, just two points adrift from the play-off spots in what will still be considered a positive campaign of progress.
Full-Time: Wigan Warriors 32 – 10 Hull FC
Teams
Wigan Warriors: Chris Greenhalgh, Reece Duddle, Jack Heggie, Dec Roberts, Adam Rigby, Phil Roberts, Mark Williams, Wes Thomasson, Matt Wooloff, Daniel Dutson
Hull FC: Mike Swainger, Martin Norris, Nathan Sherwood, Josh Edwards, Tristan Norfolk
Scorers
Wigan Warriors: Chris Greenhalgh (4), Adam Rigby (16), Phil Roberts (26, 75), Matt Wooloff (61), Jack Heggie (73)
Goals: Dec Roberts (3/5), Jack Heggie (1/1)
Hull FC: Martin Norris (6, 42)
Goals: Mike Swainger (1/2)
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