Curtis Naughton replaced the injured Tom Lineham on the wing and scored a hat-trick of tries as the Black and Whites ran in seven tries to reach the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup, as they defeated Castleford Tigers 40-14 at the KC Stadium this afternoon.
Naughton, a former Bradford Bulls Academy star, scored tries in the fourth, thirteenth and 70th minutes in a sparkling individual performance, and he was ably backed up by fullback Jordan Rankin, who also scored two second-half tries.
Hull’s other tries were scored by prop forward Mickey Paea and Kirk Yeaman, with Marc Sneyd landing six goals.
Hull had shot into a 16-0 lead after 17 minutes, but the Tigers fought back to 16-14 after 47 minutes, with tries from Ashley Gibson, James Clare and Mike McMeeken, with Luke Gale adding two conversions.
But Rankin’s first try on 61 minutes steadied the ship for Hull, and Sneyd’s penalty was then followed by three converted tries in the final ten minutes to give the final score a lopsided look.
But the game confirmed Hull’s recent revival, and they will go into the last eight confident of making more progress on the road to Wembley.
A full report and photos from this game will feature in Monday’s edition of Rugby League Express.
