Hull FC couldn’t back up their win against Wigan Warriors last week as they suffered a 24-16 defeat in a bruising encounter against Catalans Dragons.
Both sides were reduced to twelve men early on, with Catalans holding a 14-6 lead at the break after Carlos Tuimavave got over the whitewash for Hull.
Jack Walker’s early second-half try offered promise for the visitors, but Benjamin Garcia and Tom Davies put paid to any hopes of an FC comeback, despite a late score from Lewis Martin to keep the contest alive.
Team News
Simon Grix made three changes to the side that beat Wigan last weekend.
Carlos Tuimavave, Brad Fash and Harvey Barron all returned to the squad, replacing Davy Litten, Tom Briscoe and Matty Laidlaw.
The Match
Hull were on the back foot straight from the off, with Catalans’ aggression both with and without the ball causing the visitors early problems. At the end of the Dragons’ second set of the evening, Jack Walker couldn’t deal with Sam Tomkins’ kick and Micky McIlorum was on hand to pick up the scraps.
The hosts strong start continued, but their early momentum was brought to a half when Tariq Sims was sent off for a swinging arm which resulted in Ed Chamberlain requiring a head injury assessment.
And Hull cashed in with immediate effect. Tuimavave was the first to pounce on a Sam Tomkins error, and the centre was in the right place to take in Ligi Sao’s flicked pass later in the set to score FC’s first points of the evening in the right corner.
But Hull’s man advantage was short-lived. Sao soon followed Sims for an early bath after he caught Tomkins with a high tackle.
Mourgue then slotted a penalty goal over the crossbar to nudge Catalans back in front.
Having announced his return from retirement last week, Tomkins was keen to make an impression and he stepped through Hull’s right-side defence to score on his return to action.
Catalans still looked the more likely to build on their first-half lead, with the French outfit suffocating Hull for the remainder of the second-half, but ultimately, they were kept at bay by a workmanlike FC rear guard.
Half-Time: Catalans Dragons 14-6 Hull FC
Hull were fast out of the blocks at the start of the second-half as they chased the scoreboard, and they were able to cut the deficit from eight points to two when Walker was there to support Denive Balmforth’s trademark sharp break out of dummy-half.
On a night where high tackles were the theme of the game, it was Mourgue who was next to be caught high – this time by Tuimavave – and Julian Bousquet’s offload in the resulting set allowed Benjamin Garcia to slide in underneath the posts.
Trailing by eight once more, Hull continued to dig their heels in and threatened to score their third try of the match when Liam Sutcliffe almost latched onto Jake Trueman’s teasing grubber kick.
Hull were given a good opportunity with ten minutes to go, when they were awarded a penalty for a scrum interference. But Jack Charles’ kick for the touchline fell short of the mark and Matthieu Laguerre put Davies away in for the simplest of finishes to seal the win for Catalans.
There was to be one final question of the Dragons when Martin leapt into the air and scored in the left corner, but Charles’ missed conversion still left FC eight points behind with the clock in the red zone.
Full-Time: Catalans Dragons 24-16 Hull FC
The Squads
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Harvey Barron, Carlos Tuimavave, Liam Sutcliffe, Lewis Martin, Jake Trueman, Jack Charles, Herman Ese’ese, Morgan Smith, Ligi Sao, Ed Chamberlain, Jordan Lane, Yusuf Aydin
Interchanges: Denive Balmforth, Brad Fash, Will Gardiner, King Vuniyayawa
18th Man: Matty Laidlaw
Catalans Dragons: Sam Tomkins, Tom Davies, Arthur Romano, Matthieu Laguerre, Matt Ikuvalu, Arthur Mourgue, Theo Fages, Romain Navarrete, Micky McIlorum, Julian Bousquet, Tariq Sims, Bayley Sironen, Benjamin Garcia
Interchanges: Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Jordan Dezaria, Chris Satae, Jarrod Wallace
18th Man: Paul Seguier
The Scorers
Hull FC Tries: Tuimavave, Walker, Martin
Hull FC Conversions: Charles (2/3)
Catalans Dragons Tries: McIlorum, Tomkins, Garcia, Davies
Catalans Dragons Conversions: Mourgue (4/5)
Rowe Freight Man of the Match: Jack Walker
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