| Hull FC (0) 0 |
| Hull KR (14) 40 |
| Tries: Hall 3, Opacic, Batchlor, Coote, Lewis Goals: Coote 6 |
Hull KR handed city rivals Hull FC a sixth straight Super League defeat with a thumping derby win on opposition turf, thanks to Ryan Hall’s hat-trick.
Robins’ half-back Jordan Abdull’s kicking game caused mayhem throughout, leading to tries for Hall and Tom Opacic as the visitors dominated.
Abdull then supplied the key pass for James Batchelor to stroll over, while Hall put Lachlan Coote in for try four.
Hall racked up his treble and Mikey Lewis also crossed for Hull KR.
This was as chastening an afternoon as Hull FC boss Tony Smith could have possibly endured against his former club, as the Robins tore his team apart on their own turf in front of a 20,000-plus crowd.
Willie Peters’ side had more energy, better execution and a more connected gameplan for the contest, guided magnificently by former Black and Whites schemer Abdull.
By contrast, Hull scarcely threatened throughout, lacked discipline with the ball and utterly failed to cope with Abdull’s array of off-the-boot trickery.
They had to reshuffle their squad during the game because of injury, with Jamie Shaul limping and Jake Clifford going off, but not enough to explain the lack of coherent play and communication at times.
Abdull’s chip to the corner created the opportunity for Lewis to free Hall for his first, while a spiral bomb spooked Shaul and Opacic was on hand to scoop up the loose ball.
Not even a 10-minute spell in the sin-bin for Batchelor for a hip-drop tackle on Clifford gave Hull a sniff, as the visitors locked in and covered the space.
The second half brought little change to the flow of the game, but once the points started to flow it became a mini-flood for the Robins.
As they shredded their counterparts’ defence, Batchelor steamed through a huge hole as Rovers worked the ball along the line, Hall grabbed a second when he powered in and then turned provider to free Coote after a slick shift to the left.
Lewis really had the away contingent cheering when he raced across, and a fizzing ball to tee-up Hall’s third sealed the thumping win.
Hull FC boss Tony Smith told BBC Radio Humberside:
“Disappointment is the major emotion. I’m sure everybody who’s a black and white is disappointed, down-hearted and downbeat after that.
“First-half we were much more in the competition and much more competitive. I didn’t like our finishes to sets in the first-half and we didn’t ask enough questions but defensively there wasn’t much between the two teams.
“We conceded a couple of tries from kicks, and they can do that to you, Jordan [Abdull] has a terrific kicking game. But second-half there was lots between the two in terms of sharpness and execution. They got on a roll and on the front foot and we weren’t good enough.”
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters told BBC Radio Humberside:
“There were periods in the first half where we made it difficult for ourselves, but what I loved most was the zero at the end of the game.
“We had to work extremely hard, when James Batchelor went off we were down to 12 men, we didn’t have a great deal of field position, but we showed a lot toughness and resilience in the group today. There has been all preseason and this season, but it showed today.
“I thought it was Mikey’s [Lewis] best game and there’s no surprise with that playing in a derby, and Jordan [Abdull] his game is building nicely. He’s had a strong preseason and taken it into the first quarter of the year.”
Hull FC: Shaul; Swift, Sutcliffe, Tuimavave, McIntosh; McNamara, Clifford; Fash, Dwyer, Satae, Lane, Griffin, Cator
Interchanges: Sao, Evans, Vulikijapani, Taylor [Gardiner]
Hull KR: Coote; Wood, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Abdull; Kennedy, Parcell, King, Batchelor, Linnett, Minchella
Interchanges: Sue, Litten, Hadley, Luckley [Halton]
Referee: Jack Smith.