Hull FC had twice beaten the runaway leaders of Super League, Castleford Tigers, in 2017 which increased the anticipation of tonight’s fixture at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle.
The Tigers are on an eleven months unbeaten home run but FC won the league encounter 26-24 in April and a fortnight ago by 32-24 in the Challenge Cup. The Tigers were eager to ensure that lightening didn’t strike for a third time as they looked to open up an eight point gap at the top.
Michael Shenton was back in the lineup for the Tigers but there was no Andy Lynch or Matt Cook. Albert Kelly and Mark Minichiello were welcome returnees for Hull but they didn’t have the services of late withdrawal Carlos Tuimavave
Adam Milner knock-on under pressure and from the resulting set FC scored a sensational opening try on five minutes when Mahe Fonua was on hand to collect a superb back door pass from Jake Connor to walk through a gap and score from three metres. Marc Sneyd failed to add the conversion from wide right but FC had the lead and were taking the game to the Tigers.
Castleford took the lead on eleven minutes when Luke Gale hacked on, and then picked up, a loose Sneyd pass to steal a try from ten metres out. Gale kicked the extras for 6-4. Gale added a penalty on sixteen, after Hull were adjudged offside by referee Kendall.
Another mistake from Hull gifted the Tigers their second try on twenty-one when Fetuli Talanoa failed to gather a Luke Gale kick to the corner, knocking the ball into his own goal area, where Mike McMeeken reacted the quickest to touch the ball down. Gale added the extras and at 14-4 the Tigers lead was looking more comfortable.
Brilliant last ditch Castleford defence kept repeated Hull attacks from crossing the whitewash and two minutes from the break Zak Hardaker scored a solo seventy metre try when he collected a Luke Gale backwards kick to evade the tacklers and evade the chasers to go under the sticks giving Gale a simple conversion for a 20-4 half time lead.
The first points of the second half came on fifty minutes when Gale kicked a penalty from eighteen metres after a Hull ball steal.
The game was going through a scrappy period when Luke Gale made an awful mess of an attempted drop goal which barely got off the ground. On sixty-five there was some hope for Hull when Kelly pulled in the Tigers defence before passing to Fonua who improved the angle slightly for Sneyd to add the extras.
Gale kicked a penalty on seventy to extend the Tigers lead to three scores at 24-10 but a minute later Talanoa crashed over in the left corner after a brilliant Sneyd kick-off had forced a Tigers drop out. Sneyd kicked the touchline conversion and the gap was down to eight points.
On seventy-six Talanoa grabbed his second in five minutes when he scored acrobatically by the corner flag off a Griffin pass. Sneyd kicked the conversion again from the touchline and the margin was down to two points at 24-22 with just three minutes remaining.
Despite Hull finishing the game with ball in hand, the Tigers held on for the win which ensures that they will finish the regular rounds at the top of the pile.
It was another classy Cas performance in the first half, but the second will leave coach Powell and their supporters scratching their heads as to what went wrong. The game was in the bag, but after dominating the first forty they allowed Hull to rough them up, and more than share possession and position in the second half with the visitors winning the half by 18-4 and outscoring the hosts by four tries to three.
Tigers: Hardaker (T), Hitchcox, Webster, Shenton, Eden, Roberts, Gale (T, 6G), Sene-Lafeo, McShane, Millington, Foster, McMeeken (T), Milner. Subs: Massey, Springer, Patrick, Holmes.
FC: Shaul, Fonua (2T), Connor, Griffin, Talanoa (2T), Kelly, Sneyd (3G), Bowden, Houghton, Watts, Washbrook, Minichiello, Manu. Subs: Fash, Thompson, Turgut, Taylor.
Referee: Chris Kendall.
Half-Time: 20-4.
Full-Time: 24-22.
Attendance:
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