Hull FC staved off a second half Catalans Dragons comeback to win 24-20 at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s our talking points.
A game of two halves
Fresh from their much-needed win over Leeds Rhinos last weekend, the Black and Whites carried that confidence into this week to dominate the French outfit in the first half.
They got themselves off the mark early as Arthur Romano, taking on his old side for the first time since being released, got himself on the end of a Jake Arthur kick to touch down. Catalans weren’t helping themselves and a spilled ball inside their own 10m presented the opportunity for Lewis Martin to get his obligatory try.
Hull’s tails were up and with momentum firmly on their side, they got another as Davy Litten tipped a Arthur kick into the hands of James Bell, who put Logan Moy over on his first outing of the season.
Sam Lisone put Hull 22-0 up with his first carry of the game, powering over from short range just seconds after stepping off the bench.
That put Hull in a commanding position going into the second half and they started the second half well, too but Catalans came to play after the break.
Lenny Marc got the ball rolling after a Catalans break and Leo Darrelatour made the most of some poor edge defence to pull the Dragons back to within two converted tries. The winger added another to make the home crowd edgy and when Charlie Staines broke through and rounded Moy, those of a Black and Whites persuasion will have been fearing the worst.
But, Hull just had enough to cling on and claim a second win on the spin going into derby week, with a Hardaker penalty finishing the job.
Catalans injury concerns
Catalans’ first half was a real shocker and it wasn’t helped by the injuries they picked up, too. Alrix Da Costa could be seen limping off with around 90 seconds on the clock and the hooker never returned to the action.
And, he was joined on the bench by Ben Garcia midway through the first half, with the loose-forward taking a blow to the head and ultimately failing a HIA.
Joel Tomkins’ absence
The Dragons had to make the trip to west Hull without their head coach on Sunday afternoon. The message floating around the press box at the MKM Stadium was that Tomkins was absent for personal reasons, but he won’t have been happy with what he saw from his side from afar.
As it was, assistant coach Ryan Sheridan was the man in charge of the Dragons on the day.
Romano revenge
The Frenchman will have been determined to impress against the Dragons after being released by the club at the end of last season and he made his mark early in the game by scoring the first of the afternoon. He really enjoyed that one and he went on to play a key role in the first half, too.
He has more than looked the part for Hull since making the switch and he wasn’t the only off-season recruit to shine on Sunday, with James Bell excelling in the back-row, Lisone scoring and Jake Arthur looking very settled in the Hull line now.
Into derby week
Hull go into Easter week on the back of two straight wins and while elements of Sunday’s performance were far from perfect, the Black and Whites, they’ll approach Good Friday’s derby confident of being able to upset the odds.
It’s at Craven Park which adds to the challenge Hull face, but they’ll travel across the River Hull with plenty of self belief.
Catalans host Toulouse Olympique next week and they showed enough in the second half to demonstrate why they deserve to go into that clash as slight favourites.
