HUNSLET 6 LONDON BRONCOS 72
JACOB KILBRIDE, South Leeds Stadium, Sunday
LONDON ran in 13 tries – four of them from borrowed Hull KR back Louix Gorman – as they won the clash of the bottom two at a canter.
The capital side snapped an eight-match league losing streak, although Hunslet claimed the first try before sliding to a twelfth loss in 14 as they continue to find life tough after promotion from the third tier.
With limited time to build a squad after their unlikely play-off success, Hunslet’s return to the Championship was always likely to be challenging.
Such a one-sided affair hardly appeared on the cards when the Leeds side opened the scoring inside five minutes, Harvey Hallas crashing over from close range, with Billy Jowitt converting.
But the Broncos soon hit back as a clever short-side play from Connor O’Beirne led to his fellow Australian Luke Polselli sending Gorman over. Jack Smith added the first of ten conversions.
Hunslet’s ill-discipline proved costly. The ball was ripped from Huw Worthington’s grasp to hand London a penalty before O’Beirne’s sharp dart to the left then allowed Polselli to stylishly offload for Gorman’s second.
The visitors’ cause was aided by Hunslet errors in yardage, with Mackenzie Turner and Ryan Westerman the guilty parties. The latter’s mistake gave the field position for O’Beirne to deliver a sharp cut-out pass to send Polselli over.
Hunslet had a flash of hope when after Lloyd McEwan-Peters’ break from halfway, Jimmy Watson’s short kick won a goal-line drop-out.
That optimism was quickly dashed from the resultant set, Jowitt’s ambitious wide pass to the right corner being snaffled by Liam Tindall for a 90-metre interception score.
London racked up a 20-point lead before the break when Alex Walker’s looping ball to the right edge gave Smith a walk-in.
Hunslet came within a whisker of cutting the gap after the restart. Following back-to-back penalties for offside, Jowitt stepped past one defender but fell agonisingly short with his one-handed reach out for the line.
A set later, a Walker kick went through the grasp of Joe Ward before a clinical scrum set play was finished by Tindall.
By this stage, London were finding offloads and tackle breaks at will, with every score seemingly easier to come by.
O’Beirne breezed through a gaping tryline-defence gap from a Marcus Stock pass, Ben Hursey-Hord then barged over before Gorman got his third by finishing off O’Beirne’s halfway-line break.
And when Sam Campbell was sinbinned for repetitive foul play by Hunslet, the floodgates were well and truly open.
A right-side shift gave Smith a stroll-in, with the winger later turning creator for Walker’s 100th career try after a right-touchline break from his own half.
Between those two, Ethan Natoli hit an O’Beirne short ball to get his name on the scoresheet.
Gorman rounded off his quadruple in the 79th minute, touching down after a display of silky footwork from Polselli.
GAMESTAR: Hunslet simply could not handle the elusive Australian fullback Luke Polselli, whose slippery footwork, short passing and support play were all hugely impressive.
GAMEBREAKER: The 90-metre interception try from Liam Tindall after 32 minutes ended any hopes of a first-half momentum shift.
MATCHFACTS
HUNSLET
1 Jimmy Watson
5 Mackenzie Turner
20 Lloyd McEwan-Peters
39 Ryan Westerman
– Joe Ward
4 Billy Jowitt
38 Lee Gaskell
8 Harvey Hallas
34 Mason Corbett
17 Keelan Foster
37 Will Kirby
19 Liam Welham
18 Brad Clavering
Subs (all used)
13 Jordan Syme
14 Cam Berry
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
27 Sam Campbell
Tries: Hallas (5)
Goals: Jowitt 1/1
Sin bin: Campbell (67) – repeat offending by team
BRONCOS
6 Luke Polselli
33 Jack Smith
4 Brandon Webster-Mansfield
31 Louix Gorman
5 Liam Tindall
1 Alex Walker
7 Connor O’Beirne
12 Sadiq Adebiyi
9 Curtis Davies
8 Huw Worthington
11 Will Lovell
3 Ethan Natoli
13 Marcus Stock
Subs (all used)
10 Lewis Bienek
18 Ben Hursey-Hord
22 Matt Ross
27 Taylor Kerr
Tries: Gorman (12, 20, 62, 79), Polselli (26), Tindall (32, 48), Smith (35, 69), O’Beirne (54), Hursey-Hord (60), Natoli (73), Walker (76)
Goals: Smith 10/13
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 6-10, 6-16, 6-22, 6-26; 6-32, 6-38, 6-44, 6-50, 6-54, 6-60, 6-66, 6-72
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Hunslet: Harvey Hallas; Broncos: Luke Polselli
Penalty count: 5-12
Half-time: 6-26
Referee: Luke Bland
Attendance: 849