Hull FC suffered a 24-6 defeat away to Warrington Wolves on a wet, greasy evening in Cheshire.
Josh Thewlis’ hat-trick subjected the Black & Whites to their ninth defeat of the 2024 Super League campaign.
In another spirited showing from Hull, their lack of cutting edge will have frustrated them as several chances went begging, but there was a consolation try on return for Tom Briscoe.
Team News
Jake Trueman was named on the bench by Simon Grix as Hull’s star halfback made a return from a lomg-term Achilles injury.
Plus, Tom Briscoe, whose last appearance for the club was over ten years ago, marked his return to the club as he featured on the wing.
Cam Scott also returned from a spell on the sidelines for the Black & Whites through the HIA protocols.
They replaced Liam Tindall, Logan Moy and Will Gardiner from the side that took on Leeds Rhinos five days ago.
The Match
Hull flirted with danger inside the opening ten minutes, inviting the dynamic fullback Matt Dufty to break through the defensive line, and the visitors went on to concede three goal-line drop-outs from there as Warrington persisted with their early probing. The pressure was such that a tip on pass to Thewlis saw the winger cut inside to score the game’s opening try.
But Hull’s spirit was not deflated and they very much stayed in the grind. But they will have rued failing to convert their first set in a dangerous position, gifted to them by a Dufty error at the play-the-ball five metres away from his own try line.
Still, Hull came again and built some pressure when Jack Charles forced back-to-back goal-line drop-outs with a pair of well-weighted kicks.
But after looking the more dominant side, forcing multiple errors from the Wolves, the visitors were made to pay for failing to convert their chances. Josh Drinkwater threw a big dummy to ghost through Hull’s defensive line, and Williams was pushing up to score an important score on the cusp of half-time.
Half-Time: Warrington Wolves 12-0 Hull FC
Hull made the worst possible start to the second-half as Yusuf Aydin conceded a penalty in the opening set, gifting the Wolves field position. A looping ball from Dufty out to Thewlis saw the winger take possession, step back inside a scrambling defensive line and score.
At times on a greasy, drizzly evening in Cheshire, Hull were their own worst enemies, losing possession with a forward pass and conceding a seven tackle set within thirteen of the restart.
When a Warrington pass touched a Hull hand, the Wolves had a scrum which almost saw Dufty over the whitewash with an impressive solo effort. But later in the set, the ball was swung right and Rodrick Tai’s offload allowed Thewlis to once again cut inside to score his hat-trick try.
But Hull stopped themselves from failing to score in back-to-back away fixtures when Trueman, who had worked his way into the contest, looped a ball over the top of three Warrington defenders, allowing Briscoe to score in the right corner on his first FC appearance since 2013.
Full-Time: Warrington Wolves 24-6 Hull
Squads
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Tom Briscoe, Ed Chamberlain, Liam Sutcliffe, Lewis Martin, Jake Trueman, Jack Charles, Herman Ese’ese, Danny Houghton, Ligi Sao, Cam Scott, Jordan Lane, Joe Cator
Interchanges: Yusuf Aydin, Jack Brown, Franklin Pele, Morgan Smith
18th Man: Logan Moy
Warrington Wolves: Matt Dufty, Josh Thewlis, Toby King, Rodrick Tai, Arron Lindop, George Williams, Josh Drinkwater, Joe Philbin, Danny Walker, Paul Vaughan, Matty Nicholson, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Ben Currie
Interchanges: Adam Holroyd, Zane Musgrove, Sam Powell, Max Wood
18th Man: Joe Bullock
Scorers
Hull FC Tries: Briscoe
Hull FC Conversions: Charles (1/1)
Warrington Wolves Tries: Thewlis (3), Williams
Warrington Wolves Goals: Thewlis (4/4)
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