LONDON BRONCOS once more stunned Hull FC with a 17-4 win to draw level with the Black and Whites on the Super League ladder.
London broke the deadlock in the sixth minute as Josh Rourke scythed through the Hull defence following Ligi Sao’s late tackle. Oli Leyland converted expertly for a 6-0 lead.
The Broncos, however, were trapped behind their own posts from the kick-off and the Black and Whites duly punished their opponents, Morgan Smith dabbing a perfect grubber through for Lewis Martin to claim. Jack Charles couldn’t convert.
London were by far the better side in the first-half, and, they extended their lead as the half hour approached with a magnificent score. A Leyland kick was caught brilliantly by Rourke who, in turn, offloaded to Hakim Miloudi and he found Jack Campagnolo to dot down. Leyland made it 12-4 with his boot.
Despite dominating possession and territory in the final ten minutes of the half, FC just couldn’t breach a stubborn London defence as the capital side went into the break 12-4 up.
HALF-TIME: HULL FC 4-12 LONDON BRONCOS
The Broncos picked up in the second-half where they left off in the first: on the front foot as Leyland added a penalty to make it 14-4 after Harvey Barron was accused of pushing a marker over.
Jed Cartwright should have scored moments later when he was given a neat pass from Ed Chamberlain, but the forward knocked on with the line begging.
Leyland kept the scoreboard ticking over on the hour with another penalty following Martin’s shove on Rourke – and the diminutive halfback made sure of victory with nine minutes to go with a brilliant drop goal.
At 17-4 down, the Black and Whites had no answer but there was still enough time for Rourke to register an incredible effort, rising highest to a Campagnolo bomb to dive over the line.
And Leyland capped off a magic effort, playing a one-two by the rampaging Emmanuel Waine to cross with time running out. Leyland converted to round off the scoring at a remarkable 29-4.
Even then, things got worse for Hull on the hooter as Denive Balmforth was sent for a sinbin for a late tackle on Ugo Tison.
Hull FC
31 Jack Walker – 4
25 Harvey Barron – 6
3 Carlos Tuimavave – 4
44 Tom Briscoe – 5
26 Lewis Martin – 6
40 Jack Charles – 6
19 Morgan Smith – 4
8 Herman Ese’ese – 5
15 Jordan Lane – 4
12 Ligi Sao – 3
43 Ed Chamberlain – 4
49 Jed Cartwright – 6
45 Yusuf Aydin – 5
Substitutes
13 Brad Fash – 3
27 Zach Jebson – 3
28 Denive Balmforth – 3
52 Sam Eseh – 5
Tries: Martin (10)
Goals: Charles 0/1
Sinbin: Balmforth (80) – late tackle
London Broncos
23 Josh Rourke – 9
2 Lee Kershaw – 6
3 Jarred Bassett – 6
12 Ethan Natoli – 6
4 Hakim Miloudi – 8
6 Jack Campagnolo – 7
20 Oli Leyland – 10
19 Rhys Kennedy – 6
9 Sam Davis – 6
8 Rob Butler – 8
11 Will Lovell – 6
17 Sadiq Adebiyi – 6
15 Marcus Stock – 8
Substitutes
10 Lewis Bienek – 6
18 Emmanuel Waine – 6
29 Jacob Jones – 6
34 Ugo Tison – 7
Tries: Rourke (6), Campagnolo (26), Rourke (73), Leyland (77)
Goals: Leyland 6/6
Drop goal: Leyland (71)
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