HULL FC’S new signing Franklin Pele has been sent off after a horrible swinging arm on Hull KR’s Elliot Minchella.
The Black and Whites had already been up against it following injuries to Liam Sutcliffe and Joe Cator as well as a yellow card for Herman Ese’ese.
But, those issues for Tony Smith’s side were compounded when Pele launched himself at KR captain Minchella as the clock wound down to half-time.
Referee Liam Moore had no option but to send Pele off, capping off a horror debut for the former Canterbury Bulldogs man.
In front of a packed-out MKM Stadium, Rovers began the brighter of the two sides with Niall Evalds sliding over in the corner after a great offload from Tom Opacic. Peta Hiku couldn’t convert as KR led 4-0.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts with Joe Cator leaving the field with a hamstring injury before Herman Ese’ese was handed a yellow card for a high tackle on Rovers’ new signing Kelepi Tanginoa in the 11th minute.
Rovers were in the mood for blood and it was Tanginoa who doubled the visitors’ lead just before the halfway point in the first-half, powering through a gap provided by Mikey Lewis. Hiku couldn’t convert again as Rovers led 8-0.
Lewis showed his magic with a brilliant dummy through the heart of the Black and Whites’ defence to extend the visitors’ lead to 12-0 before Hiku converted to make it 14-0 as half-time approached, with Pele’s indiscretion coming soon after.
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