A rampant Wigan Warriors Academy scored four tries in the final twenty minutes to subject Hull FC Under 18s to a 42-22 defeat at Hull YPI this evening.
Hull battled valiantly against a strong Wigan outfit, with tries from Joe Thompson and Elliot Middlemas keeping the Black & Whites on the heels of the visitors at the halfway point.
Callum Barfield and Callum Kemp scored quickfire tries in the second-half to level the game, but Wigan pulled away from FC’s Under 18s in the final stages of a very competitive affair.
The Match
Wigan’s early energy edged them in front in the arm wrestle, although it took the visitors a fair 15 minutes to find a way through the Hull defence. All good centres earn their trade with good catch-and-pass attributes, and Austin Daniel did just that as he put Josh Cartwright in at the right corner.
The visitors’ pressure continued, and Hull were finding metre-making difficult against Wigan’s physical pack. But Thompson’s brave decision to kick to winger Callum Barfield inside his own half paid off when the ball was taken in and Thompson surged up in support to score.
Hull’s two-point lead was a short one, however. Lukas Mason demonstrated his pace and power as he broke through and twice had players supporting him on the inside – Finlay Yeomans and Dylan Kelly-Duffy scoring the tries to give the Warriors somewhat of a comfort blanket.
Francis Cummins’ side failed to buckle under the barrage of pressure that they found themselves under in the first-half, and five minutes later they were back to within six points. Hull got to a point under the sticks, and crucially got a quick play-the-ball, which allowed them to expose an extra man on the left hand side and Elliot Middlemas finished off in the corner.
HALF-TIME: Hull Academy 10-16 Warriors Academy
The Black & Whites’ youngsters had shown plenty of promise towards the end of the first-half, but they found themselves under further duress not long after the restart. Noah Hodkinson had threatened to break on numerous occasions in the first-half, and when he found an opening five minutes into the second-half, he put his foot on the accelerator to score from distance.
With a determined attitude, the hosts drew level, much to the pleasure of the home crowd in the evening sunshine. First, Ben Johnson showed his catch-and-pass skills to send Barfield in at the right corner, and a few moments later, Callum Kemp latched onto Joe Thompson’s grubber kick after Wigan failed to clear their lines.
With nothing to separate the two sides at the hour mark, the game was well poised with 20 minutes on the clock. But Hull went on to be taught a very harsh lesson after they made an error inside their own half as Wigan ran in four tries in the final quarter of the game.
Their strong run of momentum started when Jack Purtill scooted over the whitewash from dummy-half at point-blank range.
Then, Ryan Westerman was guilty of putting a ball down to ground when the Black & Whites threatened to score down the left channel. But Wigan switched defence into attack within the blink of an eye as Finlay Yeomans picked up the loose ball and sprinted clear to score from 70 metres out.
George O’Loughlin sealed the win for Wigan, just under ten minutes from time, with a strong run from ten metres out. And to rubber stamp the victory, Dylan Kelly-Duffy threw a dummy at acting half and slipped through the opening between the markers.
FULL-TIME: Hull Academy 22-42 Warriors Academy
Squads & Scorers
Hull: L Kemp, Barfield, Johnson, Westerman, Middlemas, Thompson, C Kemp, Haldenby, Hutchinson, Baker, Clark, Calvert, Kirby
Hull Interchanges: Smith, Swyer, Turner, Wilson
Hull Tries: Thompson, Middlemas, Barfield, C Kemp
Hull Goals: Westerman (3/4)
Warriors: Hodkinson, Cartwright, Daniel, Lowe, Drachenberg, F Yeomans, C Yeomans, T Kelly-Duffy, Purtill, McDermott, O’Loughlin, Mason, Kerr
Warriors Interchanges: D Kelly-Duffy, Porter, Smith, Wadsworth
Warriors Tries: Cartwright, F Yeomans (2), D Kelly-Duffy (2), Hodkinson, Purtill, O’Loughlin
Warriors Goals: Lowe (3/4), F Yeomans (2/4)
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