Hull FC Reserves impressed with a ten-try victory over London Broncos Reserves at Hull Sports Centre this afternoon, running out 54-0 victors.
The Reserves enjoyed their biggest win of the season so far, and they were pretty much home and dry at the interval, when six first-half tries put them into a commanding 32-0 lead.
Despite a scrappy start to the second-half, Hull peeled away from their capital opponents, scoring a further four tries.
The Match
The hosts started the match at a blistering pace, and it was more of a question of when rather than if Hull would draw first blood. In the end, it took all of five minutes, with a trademark sweeping move to the right finished off in the corner by Joe Ward.
The Black & Whites were threatening a quickfire double, and despite London’s best efforts to hold the fort, Will Kirby wrestled the ball to the ground after running a nice line off Sully Medforth’s right shoulder.
Before London even had a chance to threaten Francis Cummins’ side, Denive Balmforth fooled the markers with a big show-and-go from dummy-half, darting across the white line from fifteen metres out.
Well and truly on the front foot, Hull were looking good value for their early 18-0 lead. Some strong, smart carries from the backs didn’t go unnoticed, and the powerful presence of Jack Ashworth in the front-row was a real thorn in the London side.
But it was Hull’s other prop, Will Gardiner, who found himself in the right place at the right time to take in Sully Medforth’s flat pass, before he returned it to the halfback, who scored under the sticks.
With Hull almost recording a point per minute, the Broncos’ misery was compounded when the visitors were reduced to twelve men for Joseph Stocks’ dangerous tackle on Matty Laidlaw.
As a result, London were exposed, and Logan Moy needed no second invitation to ghost through a gaping gap in the defensive line.
The hosts finished off a marvellous first-half performance when Harvey Barron, back in action for the first time in almost two months, took in a cutout pass from Mackenzie Harman to dot down in the left corner.
HALF-TIME: Hull Reserves 32-0 Broncos Reserves
However, London emerged from the shed after the break with a more aggressive approach, and it took Hull some time to settle at the start of the second-half.
And in truth, it was only a gift from the visitors that got Hull back into gear. A mix-up from London’s scrum-play inside their own half saw the ball scooped up by Ben Johnson, who mercilessly dashed to the line from 35 metres out.
Ashworth didn’t take long to have an impact once he was reintroduced for his second stint. A big, strong carry took him underneath the sticks, and a quick play-the-ball was just the tonic for Jeylan Hodgson to burrow over from dummy-half at point-blank range.
Still, London were making a real fist of it and frustrated Hull at times. There was a minor coming together between Harvey Barron and Matthew Davies, when the London man slammed FC’s winger into the ground after the held call from the referee. Both were sent to the sin-bin for their part in causing the melee, but Hull got on with the task at hand and notched their ninth try of the game through Harman’s supporting run off Kye Armstrong.
Barron returned to action before the game was up, and he still had time to take a wide pass under his spell and fire it back on the inside for Balmforth to gallop over the try line for his second try of the match, rubber stamping a comprehensive win for the Black & Whites.
FULL-TIME: Hull Reserves 54-0 Broncos Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Moy, Barron, Johnson, Shaw, Ward, Harman, Medforth, Gardiner, Balmforth, Ashworth, Bursell, Kirby, Jebson
Hull Interchanges: Armstrong, Hodgson Kemp, Laidlaw
Hull Tries: Ward, Kirby, Balmforth (2), Medforth, Moy, Barron, Johnson, Hodgson, Harman
Hull Goals: Harman (5/8), Kemp (2/2)
Broncos: Jackson, Bofenda, Ball, Randall, Boafo, Binks, Hoyes, Winney, Davies, Williams, Stevens, Stocks, Hughes
Broncos Interchanges: Cotter, Flanagan, Peasey, Slater
Broncos Tries: N/A
Broncos Goals: N/A
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