Hull FC Academy dug their heels in and held onto a 26-22 victory against a determined Bradford Bulls Under 18s side at Bartercard Odsal Stadium.
Hull should’ve been out of sight when they led 26-6 after 50 minutes, with early second-half tries from Callum Kemp and Will Hutchinson.
A late surge from the Bulls got Hull into a minor panic, but some exemplary goal-line defence at times earned them two competition points in the Academy Championship.
The Match
The first ten minutes ultimately set the tone for the match, with both sides trading early penalties with the referee taking a strict policy on high tackles and incorrect play-the-balls.
Both sides saw early chances go begging, with both Hull and Bradford having tries chalked off in the opening quarter.
Riley Sunderland’s sin-bin was the catalyst for Hull to burst into life after their scrappy start and a fired Ben Johnson pass saw Joe Ward take possession and score in the right corner, bagging a try in his home town.
Hutchinson made it a quickfire double for FC, compounding Bradford’s misery with Sunderland still serving his ten-minute spell on the sidelines. The hooker’s big show-and-go fooled the Bradford markers and he streaked towards the try line from 20 metres out.
However, the team in control of the game was very much determined by which side was enjoying a spell of earning penalties, and Alfie Leake’s powerful drive over the posts was a consequence of Bradford being awarded consecutive penalties.
But Hull restored their cushion on the stroke of half-time as Kemp fired the perfect flat pass for Lennon Clark to power through a hole and score.
HALF-TIME: Bulls Academy 6-16 Hull Academy
A switched on Hull looked the more likely to score the first points of the second-half and it took them just eight minutes to cross for a fourth try of the evening.
Hutchinson hit the perfect 40/20, giving Hull the field position, and from the resulting set, Kemp stepped his way through the Bulls line to score.
Having seen their kick-off restart sail out on the full, the Bulls invited more pressure on their own line and the razor-sharp Hutchinson pounced when he saw an opening from dummy-half from close range to the left side of the posts.
A huge hit from Owen Haldenby drew a halt to play as Jamie Gill required treatment from the Bradford medical team, but the referee took a dim view on the contact and Hull’s front-rower was sent to the sin-bin.
Not only that, but the Black & Whites found themselves under serious duress defending their own line. After successfully holding up Sunderland in-goal, Bradford pulled the ball left on the next play and Daniel Regan squirmed in to score in the left corner.
Bradford were fired up after that try, and even more so when Regan juggled possession and grounded the ball in the left corner, turning one into a quickfire brace as Hull found themselves on the ropes within the blink of an eye, with Haldenby still in the bin.
Haldenby’s return was a welcome one, but even with thirteen players, the visitors couldn’t prevent their West Yorkshire counterparts from pulling another try back. Bradford were breathing right down Hull’s necks when Fred Butler dotted down underneath the sticks with ten minutes remaining.
The Black & Whites, with all of the momentum against them, had to dig deep to hold on, but a strong defensive effort kept the Bulls at bay in the final stages of the game.
FULL-TIME: Bulls Academy 22-26 Hull Academy
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Johnson, Ward, Nicholson, Westerman, Middlemas, Thompson, Kemp, Turner, Hutchinson, Rea, Clark, Calvert, Kirby
Hull Interchanges: Baker, Haldenby, Smith, Swyer
Hull Tries: Ward, Hutchinson (2), Clark, Kemp
Hull Goals: Westerman (3/5)
Bulls: Rayner, Sayner, Duckworth, Spencer, Rice, Ackroyd, Westwood, Gill, Owens, Bateman, Bullough, Sunderland, Butler
Bulls Interchanges: Leake, Mawson, McKinley, Regan
Bulls Tries: Leake, Regan (2), Butler
Bulls Goals: Rayner (1/1), Ackroyd (2/3)
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