MATCH REPORT: London Broncos 34-18 Hull FC

Both teams were conservative in their early attacks, and the first real chance went Hull’s way in the ninth minute. Jack Charles made a break and only Alex Walker was in front of him. Charles slowed down, allowing a chaser to get to him and in trying to he keep the ball alive, Charles lost it forward. 

When Hull were awarded a penalty for a strip 25 metres out, they could have gone for a kick at goal, but instead ran the ball, and lost it on the third tackle. However, a third penalty against the Broncos proved critical as Herman Ese-Ese crashed over from close range and was able to ground the ball despite three tacklers around him. Charles improved the score.

London hit back immediately. Hakim Miloudi beat two chasers from a rather aimless Danny Houghton kick and was in the clear. It became a four-on-one situation and Miloudi gave Alex Walker the chance to score, which he did, and Oli Leyland levelled the scores.

Parity lasted barely 80 seconds as the Broncos made a mess of the restart, knocking-on inside their 20. Hull needed only two tackles to score their second try, Jake Trueman touching down at full stretch. The conversion made it 12–6 to the visitors.

Five minutes before half-time, London came close to getting equalising score when Jarred Bassett tried to find Miloudi, only for Tom Briscoe to get a hand to the ball and send it over the sideline. No matter, on the last tackle of the repeat set, Jimmy Meadows spotted a gap in the Hull defensive line – possibly expecting a kick – so darted through and dotted down the ball by the posts, making Leyland’s conversion automatic.

And it got even better for the Broncos when Liam Sutcliffe kicked the restart dead in goal, the ball being caught by a ball-boy above his head right in front of the seats. Bolstered by a repeat set, with six seconds left on the clock, Robbie Storey went over in the right corner. Leyland’s conversion attempt drifted across in front of the posts, but London did have their first half-time lead of the season.

The first play of the second half was pretty awful for skipper Will Lovell, a most unpleasant late birthday present from Franklin Pele. The Hull prop, carrying the ball, ran straight into Lovell, leaving him prostrate, face down on the turf. Lovell got up and walked off, groggily, with assistance from two of the medical staff, but his game was over.

Five minutes into the second half, a Hull knock-on close to the 20-metre line gave the Broncos a great chance to extend their lead, only for an incorrect play-the-ball to turn over possession. A 40–20 gave Hull great position and Yusuf Aydin carried over three tacklers and, after the video referee had checked, scored a try, converted by Charles. Video evidence showed, however, that Aydin may not have kept full possession of the ball all the way down to the ground.

In the 54th minute, a late hit on Ugo Tison by Jordan Lane gave the Broncos a penalty, and Lane was sin-binned. Leyland’s penalty kick hit the right post and the ball bounced dead in goal near to the corner flag, leading to a 20-metre restart for Hull, not a tap (and seven tackles), but a kick from hand. The restart was rather tame, the ball barely reaching half-way and being easy to pick up. Hull’s defence hadn’t really readjusted and when Bassett took the ball at pace, he was able to cut through the rearguard to touch down, a score Leyland improved.

With a man advantage, London took full toll with a second try, Lee Kershaw getting the nod from the video referee. Leyland made no mistake with the extras, giving London a 10-point lead. 

A couple of minutes later, the video referee was called on to rule on a possible try by Morgan Smith. The referee could not see the ball grounded, so ruled no try and the body language of Hull’s players suggested they didn’t think the try had been scored. Their pessimism proved correct and home fans cheered loudly when “No Try” flashed up on the scoreboard.. 

Hull were starting to get a bit desperate, but they didn’t really threaten the London line. They had to gamble and when they tried to keep the ball alive near to the London 40, they telegraphed a pass and Leyland stepped in. With full-back Jack Walker in the attacking line, Leyland had about 60 metres of fresh air between him and the try-line. The chasers soon gave up and Leyland, picked the optimum spot for his own conversion.

The visitors rather accepted their fate. They lost their influential captain Houghton near the end, so both teams were without their talismanic leaders. London plugged on, kept it simple and hunted for the chance of a seventh try; Hull accepted their fate without really threatening one score, let alone the three they needed to turn the game around.

London Broncos: 1 Alex Walker, 2, Lee Kershaw, 21 Robbie Storey, 3 Jarrod Bassett, 4 Hakim Miloudi, 20 Oli Leyland, 7 James Meadows, 19 Rhys Kennedy, 34 Ugo Tison, 17 Sid Adebiyi, 11 Will Lovell, 12 Ethan Natoli, 15 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 8 Rob Butler, 10 Lewis Bienik, 29 Jacob Jones, 33 Harvey Makin. 18th man: 16 Jordan Williams.

Tries: Walker (24), Meadows (37), Storey (40), Bassett (56), Kershaw (62), Leyland (69).

Goals: O Leyland 5/7.

Drop-goals: None.

Hull FC: 31 Jack Walker, 44 Tom Briscoe, 17 Cam Scott, 4 Liam Sutcliffe, 26 Lewis Martin, 6 Jake Trueman, 40 Jack Charles, 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Danny Houghton, 45 Yusuf Aydin, 15 Jordan Lane, 12 Ligi Sao, 14 Joe Cator. Replacements: 10 Franklin Pele, 19 Morgan Smith, 27 Zach Jebson, 46 Tiaki Chan. 18th man: 37 Logan Moy.

Tries: Ese’ese (21), Trueman (27), Aydin (48).

Goals: Charles 3/3.

Drop-goal: None.

Sin-bin: Jordan Lane (late hit, 54).

Referee: Chris Kendall.

HT: 16–12.

Penalty awarded count: 2–3.