Hull FC Academy picked up their first win of 2024 with a strong 28-8 victory over Hull KR Under 18s at Sewell Group Craven Park.
The Black & Whites held a slender 10-8 lead at the break – they trailed 8-6 after Joe Ward’s early touch down, but Roman Dawson put the visitors back in front ahead of the break.
It was a complete second-half performance at both ends of the field for FC, who scored three tries in fourteen minutes to secure the two points – their first win of the season.
The Match
In what turned out to be a relatively uneventful first-half, Hull drew first blood when patient build-up play got them to within striking distance. The ball was worked right and Roman Dawson showed good skill to fend off his opposite number with one hand, and offload the ball to Ward with his other hand. The winger stepped inside Jake Parkes to open FC’s account for the afternoon.
Hull KR stayed in the arm-wrestle and gathered some momentum from a couple of penalties. Henry Watkinson was strongly held-up by three Hull FC defenders to the right of the posts, but a slick move to the left channel saw Parkes bring the hosts back level.
Parkes then had a second just seven minutes later. Ryan Westerman spilled Freddie Watts’ awkward kick in the blustery conditions, but Hull scrambled well to stop Josh Ratuvou, who had picked up the loose ball. However, the KR winger was once again the beneficiary of a sweeping move to the left side.
In the swirling wind, penalties proved to be a huge advantage and Hull FC were back in the ascendancy when KR’s ill-discipline piggy-backed them up the field.
Assisted by some strong carries to start sets on the front-foot by FC’s backs, the Black & Whites were able to get a good roll on, and Callum Kemp’s short pass allowed Roman Dawson to spin over the try line.
HALF-TIME: Robins Academy 8-10 Hull Academy
Hull made a much brighter start to the second-half, already looking much sharper in the opening couple of sets after the restart.
The visitors were able to force a goal-line drop-out as they applied some early second-half pressure through a couple of shifty Joe Thompson scurries out of acting half. On the back of that, Will Kirby crashed onto a short pass to extend Hull’s lead.
Kirby was denied a quickfire double when Callum Kemp’s offload drifted marginally forward, frustrating for Hull after a free-flowing move.
But that disappointment was swiftly brushed aside when Ben Johnson produced a piece of individual brilliance. Westerman’s offload went to ground, but the stand-off picked up the bobbling ball, chipped it over the Robins’ defensive line and won the race to regather his kick and score.
Playing with a swagger, Hull had another try just three minutes later. Fullback Lloyd Kemp chimed into the attacking line and sent Dawson over for his second of the afternoon, beating his opposite centre and the fullback on his way over the whitewash.
Although the Black & Whites enjoyed a strong spell in the first 20 minutes of the second-half, they didn’t have it all their own way in the remainder of the game, and they had plenty of defending to do as Hull KR searched for a way back into the contest.
But Dawson came up with a brilliant one-on-one tackle on Parkes to deny him a hat-trick, before halfback Freddie Watts was thwarted by some fantastic scramble defence, as Hull’s rear-guard enjoyed keeping their city rivals scoreless in the second-half.
FULL-TIME: Robins Academy 8-28 Hull Academy
Hull: L Kemp, Barfield, Westerman, Dawson, Ward, Johnson, C Kemp, Turner, Hutchinson, Haldenby, Calvert, Clark, Kirby
Hull Interchanges: Baker, Rea, Smith, Thompson
Hull Tries: Ward, Dawson (2), Kirby, Johnson
Hull Goals: Westerman (4/5)
Robins: Farrar, Parkes, Moses, Ratuvou, Forsyth, Walker, Watts, Smith, Watkinson, Lauer, Fishwick, Dearlove, Gray
Robins Interchanges: Chaulke, Fletcher, Foreman, Todd
Robins Tries: Parkes (2)
Robins Goals: Farrar (0/2)
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