HULL KR 18 HULL FC 4
JACOB KILBRIDE, Sewell Group Craven Park, Sunday
“NOW you’re gonna believe us, we’re gonna win the league” came the boisterous chant from the East Stand as Hull KR put one hand on the League Leaders’ Shield thanks to a hard-fought derby triumph.
A remarkable 21st victory of the season reopened a four-point and 100-plus points difference advantage over Wigan at the summit with two games to go to all but confirm top spot for the first time since 1985 and a second trophy of the year after Challenge Cup success.
While attention will inevitably soon turn to whether KR can go a step further than last year and win the Grand Final, this felt like yet another marker of just how far the club have come in transforming their fortunes since 2020.
For Hull FC, a top-six finish remains possible after Wakefield’s defeat at Castleford, and although their injury list (and potentially suspension list) continues to be a cause for concern, their spirit and fight, as it has for much of the season, remains clear to see.
Any Rovers supporters worried about early nerves given the size of the occasion had those fears quickly quashed.
Liam Watts had his boots rocked from the contest’s first play, setting the tone for KR’s dominant and relentless start.
The intensity of the home defence was best exemplified in the early stages. It was 16 minutes before Hull were afforded a play-the-ball inside the Rovers half.
By this stage, the hosts had squandered an opportunity to take an early lead, Arthur Mourgue sending wide a seemingly routine penalty-goal effort.
FC’s first foray into KR territory ultimately resulted in their first concession of points, Aidan Sezer over-hitting a grubber to concede a seven-tackle set from which Mikey Lewis delivered a telling cut-out pass to Jack Broadbent, who put Noah Booth over.
Lewis appeared to have pulled off a masterstroke of a play when stealing possession from Cade Cust one-on-one before haring away 90 metres to finish but the video-referee replays would show a knock-on into the Australian.
Seconds before the interval, Mourgue was handed another penalty-goal chance, this time ten metres in from the right touchline, again dragging his attempt wide.
Already without several frontline forwards, Hull’s efforts were further dented when Yusuf Aydin was sinbinned on 45 minutes for a hip drop on Mourgue.
KR capitalised immediately as Jez Litten shaped left before dummying straight under the sticks. Mourgue finally landed the two-pointer for a 10-0 lead.
The numerical disadvantage didn’t mean a Hull collapse however, frustrating Rovers, who themselves had a man in the bin after 59 minutes when Elliot Minchella hit Lewis Martin with a head-high shoulder tackle.
Tensions began to heighten but it was Rovers who ultimately profited. Cust grabbed a fist-full of Lewis’ shirt from the latter’s play-the-ball, allowing Broadbent to twist through the gaping hole.
There was late hope for Hull when Tom Briscoe dived in at the right corner from Jordan Rapana’s back-of-the-hand pass but it mattered little, and the final word, fittingly, belonged to KR and winger Tom Davies, who dotted down Tyrone May’s wide cut-out pass late on.
FC finished the contest with twelve men again as Rapana was yellow carded for a needless late shot on Mourgue.
GAMESTAR: Hull KR’s Jez Litten. A commanding display at nine will have done his Ashes chances no harm at all. He fronted up with several hefty shots in defence, was dangerous out of acting-half and topped it off with a cheeky dummy try from close range.
GAMEBREAKER: Hull FC appeared to have been handed a lifeline when Elliot Minchella was sinbinned, but Jack Broadbent’s opportunistic score after Cade Cust’s inexcusable discipline lapse ended any realistic comeback hopes.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Tyrone May’s classy cut-out ball out to the right edge gave Tom Davies a late walk-in to cap KR’s Derby triumph.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Jez Litten (Hull KR)
2 pts Tom Davies (Hull KR)
1 pt Jack Broadbent (Hull KR)
MATCHFACTS
HULL KR
35 Arthur Mourgue
2 Tom Davies
3 Peta Hiku
18 Jack Broadbent
36 Noah Booth
6 Mikey Lewis
7 Tyrone May
16 Jai Whitbread
9 Jez Litten
10 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
11 Dean Hadley
12 James Batchelor
13 Elliot Minchella
Subs (all used)
15 Sam Luckley
20 Kelepi Tanginoa
24 Eribe Doro
25 Bill Leyland
18th man (not used)
21 Jack Brown
Also in 21-man squad
5 Joe Burgess
33 Harvey Horne
38 Cobie Wainhouse
Tries: Booth (18), Litten (46), Broadbent (63), Davies (76)
Goals: Mourgue 1/6
Sin bin: Minchella (59)
HULL FC
34 Lloyd Kemp
5 Tom Briscoe
1 Jordan Rapana
20 Davy Litten
22 Lewis Martin
14 Cade Cust
7 Aidan Sezer
17 Jack Ashworth
9 Amir Bourouh
41 Liam Watts
3 Zak Hardaker
12 Jordan Lane
16 Yusuf Aydin
Subs (all used)
19 Brad Fash
21 Will Gardiner
27 Matty Laidlaw
30 Callum Kemp
18th man (not used)
23 Lewis Moy
Also in 21-man squad
24 Jack Charles
26 Zach Jebson
39 Sam Eseh
Tries: Briscoe (72)
Goals: Hardaker 0/1
Sin bin: Aydin (45), Rapana (79)
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 14-0, 14-4, 18-4
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Hull KR: Jez Litten; Hull FC: Jordan Lane
Penalty count: 7-3
Half-time: 4-0
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 12,338