Hull FC head coach John Cartwright could be heard showering Will Pryce with praise after his match winning heroics against Bradford Bulls on Saturday night.
The Black and Whites huffed and puffed against the Super League newcomers and could have quite easily lost the game, with the Bulls going close to delivering the killer blow on more than one occasion.
However, they couldn’t find a way over the line late in the game, with Joe Keyes being denied by a superb last ditch effort from Lewis Martin before Pryce managed to step what appeared to be a certain try from Elliot Peposhi.
The full-back then went up the other end and slotted the decisive one pointer to win the game before a Cade Cust try gave Hull breathing space with less than three minutes remaining.
Ultimately, Hull were rocked but they came good at the end to seal the points and a superb individual performance from Pryce was at the heart of it.
“Everyone outside the group thought it was just turn up and win,” Cartwright said on his side’s 27-20 round one win over the Bulls.
“Inwardly, we knew it wasn’t the case: they’re a new club, there’s a lot of excitement there and these early season games are dangerous. We’ve seen that already. They’ve got some really classy players and they really tested us.
“I thought we could have made it real tough for them on half-time as we had some opportunities to make it 24-10. In the second half, the momentum swung and it’s hard then to stop with the way the game is at the moment.
“There was two critical tackles – one by Liam Martin and one from Will Pryce – and if they’d scored there, it would probably have been game over.
“Those two boys made huge efforts to stop the tries. But everyone else got back to fill the line in , too, which says great things about our fitness.”
On Pryce in particular, Cartwright added: “The most pleasing thing with Will was the tackle he made on the try line. It was a try for all the money. He put his body on the line, it was a really good technique and for me it was the most pleasing thing of all.
“You can have all the flashy stuff but that was the most pleasing thing.
“He’s talented. He’s got great skill and speed but for him to go to the next level we have to go to the next level as a team. That’s key for him and everyone.”
Hull FC had four off-season recruits in their 17-man squad, but they were forced to name youngster Callum Kemp in the halves due to the absence of star stand-off Jake Arthur. The Australian, who has been signed from Newcastle Knights, picked up a hamstring injury in the win over Salford RLFC last week and didn’t feature.
“It was a little tweak in his hammy towards the end of the Salford game,” Cartwright added. “It just didn’t respond and it wasn’t worth the risk. It’s only short-term so really hopeful for next week.”
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