A young Hull FC side were beaten on a boggy night in Warrington, having played 45 minutes with twelve men after Fa’amanu Brown’s red card.
Tries from Lewis Martin and Jack Walker weren’t enough for the Black & Whites, whose youngsters produced a spirited performance at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, but ultimately that wasn’t to be enough to claim the result.
Team News
Tony Smith made several changes from the side that faced Hull KR in last Thursday’s season opener at the MKM Stadium, with nine Academy graduates featuring in Smith’s team.
Dropping out of the team were the suspended Ligi Sao, Herman Ese’ese and Franklin Pele, with Joe Cator (hamstring), Cam Scott (calf) and Danny Houghton (concussion) all missing the trip to the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Into the team came youngsters Will Gardiner, Harvey Barron, and Nick Staveley, with Liam Sutcliffe returning from an illness that forced him to miss the season opener.
Completing the interchange for the Black & Whites were youngsters Denive Balmforth and Charlie Severs, both making their first appearance for the club since 2022, with Balmforth spending 2023 on loan at Newcastle Thunder and Severs missing the entire season with a pair of shoulder injuries.
Sam Burgess made four changes from his team that faced Catalans Dragons in the South of France, welcoming back Josh Thewlis who missed last week’s game as he became a father for the first time. Burgess also brought into his team youngsters Leon Hayes at half-back in place of George Willians, Adam Holroyd in the back row for the suspended Jordy Crowther and Max Wood who took his place on the interchange bench for Gil Dudson.
The Match
Warrington started a low scoring first half quickly, with four sets in the opening five minutes after a pair of penalties and a drop out.
The pressure told, with Danny Walker exploiting a gap at marker and darting over from dummy half, with Josh Thewlis converting from in front of the posts.
From there though, Hull grew into the game and had much the better of the half.
First, the Black & Whites went close through Liam Sutcliffe, who was held up over the line after a high tackle from Thewlis, but no decision was forthcoming from the officials.
Hull continued to build pressure, and after a nicely worked scrum play Jack Walker fed Lewis Martin to squeeze in in the corner, with McIntosh on hand to convert from the touchline.
The game turned with less than five minutes remaining in the half, as Nu Brown was sent off for a head clash with Ben Currie, with Thewlis kicking the penalty goal to restore the Wolves lead.
Half Time: Warrington Wolves 8 – 6 Hull FC
The officials remained the talking point at the start of the second period, as Matty Ashton was awarded a penalty try when going for the corner for a high tackle by Tex Hoy.
Hull may have been down to twelve men, but that didn’t result in any lack of determination, as the Black & Whites were next on the scoreboard, Morgan Smith’s kick was deflected by Connor Wrench and Jack Walker was on the spot to cross and reduce Wire’s lead to four.
Warrington took advantage of some tired Hull defence with the next score, darting away from Gardiner and Staveley at marker to score under the posts and move Warrington into a double point lead for the first time.
Warrington extended their lead with a penalty goal on the hour mark, Will Gardiner penalised for a late hit on Leon Hayes, which Thewlis slotted between the uprights.
Warrington struck next to really put the game out of Hull’s grasp, Toby King scoring his first try since returning to the Wolves from his season long loan at Wigan.
Numbers on the field evened up with 15 minutes left on the clock, Sam Powell sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Jack Walker as Walker returned a long kick from the hosts.
Warrington scored again with less than five minutes on the clock going the length of the field, Lachlan Fitzgibbon slipping out of a couple of tackles, passing to James Harrison to stroll in to finish off the move.
The final try of the game came from Connor Wrench on the hooter, blowing out the scoreline which didn’t reflect on the effort from the Black & Whites.
Full Time: Warrington Wolves 36 – 10 Hull FC
Squads:
Warrington Wolves: Matt Dufty, Josh Thewlis, Toby King, Connor Wrench, Matty Ashton, Leon Hayes, Danny Walker, Paul Vaughan, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Adam Holroyd, Ben Currie; Joe Philbin, Max Wood, Sam Powell, Zane Musgrove
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Harvey Barron, Darnell McIntosh, Liam Sutcliffe, Lewis Martin, Tex Hoy, Morgan Smith, Jack Brown, Fa’amanu Brown, Jack Ashworth, Nick Staveley, Jayden Okunbor, Jordan Lane; Charlie Severs, Davy Litten, Denive Balmforth, Will Gardiner
Scorers:
Warrington Wolves: Danny Walker, Matty Ashton, Sam Powell, Toby King, James Harrison, Connor Wrench | Josh Thewlis (7/8)
Hull FC: Lewis Martin, Jack Walker | Darnell McIntosh (1/2)
Rowe Freight Man of the Match: Nick Staveley
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