A young Hull FC Reserves outfit came from behind twice to defeat Bradford Bulls Reserves 20-16 in the season opener at the Horsfall Community Stadium.
Roman Dawson and Mackenzie Harman both scored to put Hull in front at the break, having trailed 8-0 early on, but a slow start to the second-half sent the visitors back to square one.
None-the-less, Lennon Clark and Will Hutchinson stepped up to the mark for the Black & Whites, who secured a hard-fought opening round victory in West Yorkshire.
The Match
Hull struggled to get to grips with the new tackle-height laws early on, conceding cheap field position. They were made to pay when the trialist on show for the hosts darted left out of dummy-half, crashing over to score just three minutes into the tie.
Having kicked the conversion, Finley Balback added another goal to his tally when the Bulls opted to take the two points on offer after Damel Diakhate was penalised for another high tackle.
The Bulls’ 8-0 advantage was quickly reduced to four points when Denive Balmforth found a lovely offload to Dawson, and the young outside back blistered his way to score in the right corner.
The visitors managed to hit the front for the first time on the night just before the interval, as a jinking run from Harman saw him beat a number of defenders to score in the right corner. His conversion made it 10-8 to the Black & Whites at the break.
HALF-TIME: Bulls Reserves 8-10 Hull Reserves
Similar to the tale early in the first-half, Hull found themselves straight on the back foot when Bradford were awarded another penalty for a high-tackle. The ball was moved to the right edge, and a couple of neat offloads allowed Matahwa to finish off a crisp move in the corner.
More ill-discipline from the Black & Whites with their tackle height continued to cost them dearly. The field position earned by the Bulls from another penalty inside their own half allowed them to march down the field and score with a spectacular finish from Scurr in the corner, putting Bradford back in the driving seat.
But the windy conditions were on FC’s side, as Balback’s two conversion attempts to the quickfire tries both drifted wide, leaving the visitors just six points behind.
Discipline was very much proving to be a deciding factor in the momentum of the game, and once Bradford’s started to wane, Hull were ready to pounce.
Having earned back-to-back penalties, a sweeping move to the right edge saw fullback Logan Moy supply a short pass to Lennon Clark, allowing the back-rower to steam over the whitewash in the right corner. But Ryan Westerman’s conversion attempt was wide of the mark and Hull still had work to do with fifteen minutes left on the watch.
With less than ten minutes remaining, Hull’s place in the ascendency grew firmer and they re-took the lead for a second time as Hutchinson darted over the try-line under the sticks from close range.
The hosts still had time on their side to restore parity, and perhaps even take the lead. There was an opportunity in the last knockings when Charlie Barrett had an opening down the left wing, but fantastic scramble defence from Clark and Dawson saw the Bradford winger bundled into touch.
FULL-TIME: Bulls Reserves 16-20 Hull Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Moy, Shaw, Dawson, Westerman, Ward, Harman, Medforth, Diakhate, Hodgson, Laidlaw, Kirby, Bursell, Balmforth
Hull Interchanges: Clark, Haldenby, Hutchinson, Turner
Hull Tries: Dawson, Harman, Clark, Hutchinson
Hull Goals: Harman (1/2), Westerman (1/2)
Bulls: Moody, Barrett, Waites, Matahwa, Scurr, Balback, Newboult, Gill, Trialist, Arnold, Mawson, Gray, Barraclough
Bulls Interchanges: Butler, Kellett, Owens, Rayner, Sunderland
Bulls Tries: Trialist, Matahwa, Scurr
Bulls Goals: Balback (2/4)
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