Hull FC hammer Catalans
22 Jun 2019
Josh Griffin scored two tries as Hull FC dominated in the soaring temperatures of Perpignan with a 50-10 win over the Catalans Dragons.
Hull went behind early on but fought back to score eight tries, all converted by Marc Sneyd.
In the eighth minute, McIlorum's grubber on the last tackle ricocheted into the arms of Sam Tomkins who collected the ball and touched down. Tomkins converted his own try to give the hosts an early six-point advantage.
A spectacular try from Hull levelled the game up, Jake Connor's break down the right and flick pass to Ratu Naulago saw the Fijian step inside Tomkins before passing to the supporting Albert Kelly, who stepped out of two Catalans tackles to score down the right.
Joe Westerman then touched down before Catalans came back into the game on the half hour when Lewis Tierney went over.
OH MY DAYS! @hullfcofficial take a bow! Ratu Naulago put the burners on 😱?????♂??💨
Live on @SkySportsRL #SLCatHul pic.twitter.com/TetKnvzXWN
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) June 22, 2019
Andre Savelio then dotted down for Hull with Griffin still able to cross for an impressive try before the break.
Kieran Buchanan touched down to the left of the posts for his first Super League try as Hull claimed a 22-point lead in the second half before Ratu Naulago scored a 105-metre effort in the 52nd minute, collecting the ball from behind his try line to race the length of the field to score a remarkable try.
Griffin grabbed his second and Jamie Shaul wrapped up the comprehensive win with 13 minutes remaining.
Hull FC coach Lee Radford said: "It was a really pleasing performance. I thought they really came out early on all guns blazing and they had us on the ropes there for a while but I thought we landed a couple of sucker punches from distance and that broke the spirits a little bit so that was really, really pleasing."
Catalans Dragons boss Steve McNamara said: "I’m really angry. I thought we got off to a fantastic start, I thought we showed some real intent at the start but as soon as things went against us, we stopped. It’s more than disappointing to see that and it’s not good enough for our club."
