Catalans Dragons 31-16 Hull FC

A depleted Black & Whites side put in a brave effort in the South of France on Friday evening, but a late surge from Catalans saw the Betfred Super League table-toppers come away with victory. After going into the final quarter of the game level, it was the hosts who ultimately came out on top with a 31-16 win. Hull had first-half scores from Carlos Tuimavave and Bureta Faraimo in what was a promising performance going into next week’s Hull Derby.

Brett Hodgson handed debuts to Hull FC Academy pairing Marcus Walker, who started at centre, and Jacob Hookem, who started on the bench. Hull were also boosted by the return of co-captain Scott Taylor, who also began the match as one of FC’s interchange options. FC though were without several high-profile stars, including Mahe Fonua, Marc Sneyd, and Chris Satae, as well as Jake Connor, Josh Griffin and Masi Matongo who remains on the injured list, and Andre Savelio, Jordan Johnstone and Connor Wynne through suspension.

Catalans took the lead after just four minutes when the hosts opened up space down the right edge, allowing Tom Davies to score with ease on his return from injury. Hull though took the lead against the run of play; as the Dragons looked to go for their second in the corner, Carlos Tuimavave intercepted and ran eighty metres to the opposite end of the ground to score a spectacular effort. McNamara converted with ease.

McNamara missed the chance to extend Hull’s lead as he missed a penalty goal on the 20-minute mark, but made amends minutes later with a further successful attempt. The Dragons hit the front once more though as Davies added a second, with a spectacular diving effort in the corner.

However, Hull scored one of their tries of the season so far to give them the lead at half-time; Jordan Lane hit a superb line to break through the Dragons defence and lobbed an audacious pass out wide to Bureta Faraimo who had the pace to finish.

To read the full report of the game – click here.

Catalans Dragons 31 (10)
Tries: Davies 2, Yaha, S Tomkins, Bousquet. Goals: Maloney 5. Drop goal: Maloney

Hull FC 16 (14)
Tries: Tuimavave, Faraimo. Goals: McNamara 4