Hull FC were beaten by London Broncos on a disappointing afternoon at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Tries from Herman Ese’ese, Jake Trueman and Yusuf Aydin weren’t enough for Hull, as they were soundly beaten by their hosts.
Team News
Simon Grix made two changes from the side that lined-up against Warrington last weekend.
Loanee Tiaki Chan came onto the bench to make his club debut, alongside Zach Jebson who made his second appearance of the season.
The pair replace Ed Chamberlain and Jack Brown, who have both now departed the club.
Carlos Tuimavave (hamstring), Brad Fash (ankle), Jack Ashworth (thumb), Mitieli Vulikijapani (knee), Nick Staveley (knee) and Cobie Wainhouse (knee) all remain sidelined for Hull.
For the Broncos, former Hull players Lewis Bienek and Hakim Miloudi featured, alongside academy graduate Robbie Storey.
The Match
The opening exchanges were an even affair, with Hull having the better of the opportunities but continued to make errors when in good ball positions, first through Martin, then Cator and Ese’ese.
It took 20 minutes for the deadlock to be broken, as Herman Ese’ese powered over from 10 meters out, breaking through 4 London defenders to smash the ball down.
Once the deadlock was broken, the floodgates opened.
Two minutes after Hull’s try, Hakim Miloudi fielded a kick under pressure from Cam Scott, showed elusive footwork to beat the Hull man and pass inside to the supporting Alex Walker, with Leyland levelling things up with the boot.
After tying the scores Leyland dropped the kick off, giving Hull chance to restore their lead, and that was a chance they took.
Danny Houghton’s pass to Jake Trueman on the third tackle gave the half back time and space wide of the ruck, and he took full advantage, throwing a dummy and getting outside Will Lovell and reaching out to score.
Just before the break London drew level, James Meadows running between Hull’s proper on the last and breaking through to score, Leyland again levelling the scores.
And that wasn’t to be all, on the stroke of half time the Broncos took the lead for the first time. Firing the ball wide Robbie Storey got on the outside shoulder of Liam Sutcliffe and was able to stumble over the line to score.
Half Time: London Broncos 16 – 12 Hull FC
Hull responded well after the break, Franklin Pele carrying with intent from the restart and sending Will Lovell flying with his kick return.
Danny Houghton then kicked a 40/20 to put Hull in good field position, and they took advantage. Tiaki Chan was held up over the line, but on the next play Yusuf Aydin rolled out of the London defence to level the scores, with Jack Charles’ conversion restoring Hull’s lead.
The change turned again, as Jordan Lane was sent to the sin bin for a late challenge on Meadows, and the Broncos took full advantage, scoring twice in that period.
Oli Leyland had a shot at goal from 30 meters out and hit the post before the ball trickled out, but that wouldn’t matter for the Broncos, as Jarred Bassett scored from the resulting set to put the hosts back in front.
London extended their lead, Lee Kershaw evading Lewis Martin’s tackle after Robbie Storey’s offload, with Leyland’s goal making the deficit 10 points.
Hull went close through Morgan Smith, but the former London man was held up over the line on the last tackle.
London sealed the game with an Oli Leyland interception, taking Herman Ese’ese’s loose offload to race away and score under the posts.
Full Time: London Broncos 34 – 18 Hull FC
Squads:
London Broncos: Alex Walker, Lee Kershaw, Robbie Storey, Jarred Bassett, Hakim Miloudi, Oli Leyland, James Meadows, Rhys Kennedy, Ugo Tison, Sadiq Adebiyi, Will Lovell, Ethan Natoli, Marcus Stock
Interchange: Lewis Bienek, Harvey Makin, Rob Butler, Jacob Jones,
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Tom Briscoe, Cam Scott, Liam Sutcliffe, Lewis Martin, Jake Trueman, Jack Charles, Herman Ese’ese, Danny Houghton, Yusuf Aydin, Jordan Lane, Ligi Sao, Joe Cator
Interchange: Franklin Pele, Morgan Smith, Tiaki Chan, Zach Jebson,
The Scorers:
London Broncos Tries: Alex Walker (23), James Meadows (37), Robbie Storey (40), Jarred Bassett (56), Lee Kershaw (62), Oli Leyland (70)
London Broncos Goals: Oli Leyland (5/7)
Hull FC Tries : Herman Ese’ese (21), Jake Trueman (28), Yusuf Aydin (47)
Hull FC Goals: Jack Charles (3/3)
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