The Black & Whites held off a late Wigan comeback to down the Warriors on Saturday afternoon, with a memorable 24-22 win to back it three consecutive home wins against Matt Peet’s side.
First-half scores from Jack Walker, Liam Sutcliffe and Davy Litten put FC in a commanding position before the break, while Denive Balmforth’s try immediately after the restart put the result seemingly in Hull’s hands.
But the Warriors fought back late on, with Brad O’Neill, Liam Marshall and Zach Eckersley setting up a nervy finish at the MKM Stadium. But Simon Grix’s side held on for their third home victory of the season.
Team News
Simon Grix made four changes to the side that lined up in the derby seven days ago.
Ed Chamberlain and King Vuniyayawa both came in to the side after signing loan deals with the club during the week.
Jack Walker made his first Super League appearance in over two months, in place of Logan Moy.
Davy Litten came in at centre, replacing Carlos Tuimavave.
Brad Fash also missed out this week, with young forward Matty Laidlaw replacing him.
Tiaki Chan was ineligible to play against his parent club.
The Match
Hull FC started the game promisingly with the ball in hand. A great first set and kick chase saw the Warriors pinned inside their own half which was followed up by an error in a positive start for the Black and Whites.
Hull were the ones with the first real opportunity and they took it. Martin beat Keighran to a Trueman kick and knocked it back into the arms of Jack Walker for the opening score. Jack Charles knocked over the extras. Things nearly got even better, with Trueman’s kick on the next set inches away from a 40/20.
FC went close again on the ten minute mark, with Jack Walker sending Jack Charles away to a one on one with the fullback, but the pass was deemed to be forward.
Attack was then turned into defence, with tackles on Liam Farrell and Harry Smith denying two potential tries from the visitors in the first test of Hull’s resolve.
However, Wigan did score on the 15 minute mark. An overlap on the left hand side saw Liam Marshall sent away for a try. The conversion was wide of the target.
Grix’s side immediately had the chance for a response though after a Marshall knock on on his own line, and they took it. Straight from the scrum, Sutcliffe found a gap in the line and scored under the posts. Charles was on target with the boot.
FC had another good opportunity to post points shortly after following a high tackle from Wigan and then a goal line drop out. However, an error let Matt Peet’s side off the hook.
Hull were once again tested in defence with a quick attack from the visitors after half an hour. It was Jack Walker who this time came up with the try saver on Junior Nsemba.
FC had their third try on the next set. A lovely cross field kick from Jake Trueman was taken well and grounded by Davy Litten. Charles kept his 100% record with the boot.
Tyler Dupree was sin binned for a high tackle with five to go in the half and the resulting penalty put Hull back on the front foot. It was another cross field kick from Trueman but this time was a knock on in the air.
Wigan ended the half with a potential try but after a video referee check, were denied.
Half-Time: Hull FC 18-4 Wigan Warriors
Hull had the first real chance of the second forty. An incredible Yusuf Aydin break got Hull in good field position before Denive Balmforth finished off a well worked move next to the posts. Charles extended Hulls lead to 20.
A knock on from Marshall saw Hull FC have another chance a few minutes later, but this time it came to nothing with the visitors intercepting a pass out wide. It didn’t take long for FC to have another opportunity though, with Denive Balmforth scooting from dummy half and being held up over the line just after the 50 minute mark.
Wigan had an opportunity to pull one back on their next set with an acrobatic effort from Miski but a fantastic covering tackle offset the winger and forced a knock on in the act of scoring.
Simon Grix’s side had another opportunity as the game headed into the final quarter as a Warriors pass found touch, but couldn’t make their way over for a fifth score of the afternoon. Ligi Sao went close on the next set but also couldn’t forge a way over.
The Warriors built up some sustained pressure on the FC line over the next few minutes, with Liam Farrell going close but Denive Balmforth got in the way of the pass to him. However, they did get their try a few plays later through Brad O’Neill before Keighran added the extras. The visitors went close in the next few sets which were full of expansive rugby but couldn’t get over the line.
Jack Charles got Hull out of danger with a break from just inside Wigan’s half before a Mago knock on saw the Black and Whites handed another great opportunity just inside the final ten minutes. Nothing came out of it as Lewis Martin was pushed into touch by Liam Marshall on the left edge.
Davy Litten was sin binned for a high tackle in the next set and Hull were made to pay for the error. From the resulting penalty, the ball was shifted out wide to Liam Marshall who sidestepped the defender for the try. Keighran converted the try.
It was back to back tries for the visitors. Zach Eckersley finished off a Wigan break to score just right of the posts. Keighran converted the try and reduced the gap to two with under five minutes to go.
Wigan nearly stole the win with two minutes to go, cutting back infield towards space before a knock on returned the ball to Hull. Wigan got one final attempt but couldn’t score and Hull held on for a massive victory.
Full Time: Hull FC 24-22 Wigan Warriors
The Squads
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Tom Briscoe, Davy Litten, Liam Sutcliffe, Lewis Martin, Jake Trueman, Jack Charles, Herman Ese’ese, Morgan Smith, Ligi Sao, Jordan Lane, Ed Chamberlain, Yusuf Aydin.
Interchanges: Denive Balmforth, Will Gardiner, Matty Laidlaw, King Vuniyayawa
18th Man: Harvey Barron
Wigan Warriors: Zach Eckersley, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighranm, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Jack Farrimond, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.
Interchanges: Liam Byrne, Patrick Mago, Tyler Dupree, Sam Walters
18th Man: Harvie Hill
The Scorers
Hull FC Tries: Walker (5), Sutcliffe (20), Litten (31), Balmforth (42)
Hull FC Conversions: Charles (5, 21, 32, 43)
Wigan Warriors Tries: Marshall (15, 72), O’Neill (62), Eckersley (74)
Wigan Warriors Conversions: Keighran (63, 73, 75)
Rowe Freight Man of the Match: Jack Walker
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