The final game of round three of Super League 2021 saw the Warrington Wolves travel to Hull to take on an FC side who started the game sitting pretty in second place in the table and who knew that a big points win would see them end the round at the top of the pile.
Talisman Marc Sneyd was back for the home side after missing last week’s cup win over Featherstone Rovers, but they were without the services of Manu Ma’u who is out for up to a month with a calf problem. The Wolves were missing Tom Lineham who is serving the first of a three-match ban but did have Gareth Widdop back in their side for the trip over the Pennines.
It took twenty-three minutes of average rugby until the game witnessed its first score which came from the boot of Marc Sneyd after a late hit on Joe Cator as he put in a kick.
Both sides were making unforced errors in a scrappy game, neither team able to put sets together to test their opposition.
Stefan Ratchford levelled the scores on thirty-one as he kicked a penalty goal in the closest of games.
Warrington had the chance of the opening try on thirty-three when Gareth Widdop chipped over the top and after chasing down his own kick, he was unable to ground in the field of play and the sides were tied up at 2-2 at the interval.
A Jake Mamo hand denied Hull a try at the start of the second half as he intercepted a pass between Jake Connor and Josh Griffin. On the next set Connor went close again but knocked-on on the line.
Connor knocked-on again with the line begging on fifty-one as the Airlie Birds tried to get the breakthrough.
Jake Connor must thank Jordan Lane for putting the opening try on a plate as he broke through the defence and turned Ratchford inside out before giving the FC fullback a walk-in try under the sticks. Sneyd added the conversion for an 8-2 lead, a little against the second half run of play.
Daryl Clark went over for Warrington but he was held up, undeterred he got the ball to Chris Hill who did manage to get the ball to ground for try under the uprights giving Ratchford the simplest of conversions to level the scores at 8-8 with seventeen minutes remaining.
Lane was inspirational in the second Hull try as he kept the ball alive which then went through a number of pairs of hands before ending up with a pass from Savelio to Carlos Tuimavave for the centre to grab a crucial four-pointer. Sneyd converted brilliantly from the touchline for a 14-8 lead with nine minutes remaining.
Sneyd missed a drop goal with six minutes left on the clock, sliding the ball wide of the posts from close range.
With two seconds to the final hooter Mamo weaved his way through the Hull defence to get the ball down and give his side the chance of securing golden point. Widdop stood in for the Wolves and kicked the conversion for 14-14 and the game went into added time.
The Wolves kicked off the extra time after a long delay to resolve issues with the ground clock. FC couldn’t engineer a kicking position with their first set, but the Wolves did, Blake Austin missing the first drop goal attempt.
A Griffin break took Hull deep into the Wolves half and when the ball went back to Sneyd he hit the post protector with a poor kick. Jordan Lane was penalised on the last tackle when the Wolves had been kept in their own half and despite engineering a kicking position Austin missed again with his drop goal attempt.
Connor had a shy at the sticks with seconds remaining, but he also missed as the hooter sounded to end the first period.
Three minutes into the second period of golden point, and from only twenty-five out, Sneyd missed the drop goal attempt again. Widdop was the next to miss a drop goal, the ball nit even making it as far as the sticks. Sneyd was forced into a fifty-five-metre attempt with just over a minute left and he also got nowhere near his target.
An Austin attempt was bravely charged down by Savelio but on FC’s next attack Connor made an awful attempt. The hooter sounded the end of the second period and the game was drawn.
Despite the excitement of golden point, it was a poor game between two sides playing well below their potential with plenty of mistakes from both sides in attack. The points were shared in an unsatisfactory outcome for both sides. Both coaches have plenty to work on during the week.
Hull FC: Connor (T), Faraimo, Tuimavave (T), Griffin, Swift, McNamara, Sneyd (3G), Taylor, Houghton, Satae, Savelio, Lane, Cator. Subs: Fash, Brown, Bowden, Scott.
Warrington Wolves: Ratchford (2G), Thewlis, Mamo (T), King, Charnley, Austin, Widdop (G), Hill (T), Clark D, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, Davis. Subs: Clark J, Philbin, Mulhern, Walker.
Half-Time: 2-2.
Full-Time: 14-14. (14-14 after golden point).
Referee: Rob Hicks.
Score Progression: 2-0, 2-2 : HT : 6-2, 8-2, 8-6, 8-8, 12-8, 14-8, 14-12, 14-14 : FT : 14-14 : Golden Point.
