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Hull FC 28 Harlequins 4: Hull sweep aside Harlequins without the injured Long
Super league: Hull proved they are capable of winning without playmaker Sean Long as they got back to winning ways against a dismal Harlequins side at a freezing and rain-soaked KC Stadium.
After impressive successes in their first two fixtures, Hull's bubble was burst last weekend when, without the injured Long, they were surprisingly beaten 18-16 by the Crusaders.
That posed many questions about how capable they were of performing without their skipper but, despite Long's absence and the omission of understudy Jordan Tansey for disciplinary reasons, Richard Agar's men provided the right answers last night.
The performance of debutant Jordan Turner, who played out of position in the halves, will have particularly pleased Agar, but there was little for opposite number Brian McDermott to smile about as his men slumped to a third defeat in four games.
They stepped out of the competition last weekend to provide warm-up opposition for World Club Championship side Melbourne Storm and appeared to still be in training mode for the majority of this tie as Hull dominated possession.
The opening try came from rugged Australian veteran Craig Fitzgibbon – his first in the English game – as he went 20 metres to the line after Willie Manu broke free thanks to Richard Whiting's delightful delayed pass.
Danny Tickle added the goal and would have laid on a try for Craig Hall moments later had his pass not been deemed forward, but it mattered little as Kirk Yeaman posted his third score of the season from close range when he took in Shaun Berrigan's bullet pass.
Harlequins' response should have been instant but Luke Williamson dropped David Howell's pass a metre from the line, while at the other end video referee Ian Smith deemed that Hall had not grounded his own kick through the line.
Hall got the try his efforts deserved five minutes after the break as Turner broke away from the base of a scrum to send him racing 50 metres through a gaping hole, before Tickle plundered over from close range as Quins fell apart. Tony Clubb did get the London side on the scoreboard with 15 minutes left, although video replays suggested it was Whiting and not Clubb that got to the England wing's kick first.
But Richard Horne dummied his way over from 10 metres out to get Hull moving again and they could have added a further score before the finish if Tickle had grounded Horne's kick correctly.
Hull: Whiting, Calderwood, Hall, Yeaman, T. Briscoe, Turner, Horne, Radford, Berrigan, O'Meley, Manu, Tickle, Fitzgibbon. Substitutes: Houghton, Cusack, Dowes, Lauaki.
Harlequins: Jones-Bishop, O'Callaghan, Clubb, Howell, Sharp, Melling, Orr, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Randall, Wilkes, Williamson, Esders, Golden. Substitutes: Temata, Ward, Bolger, Smith.
Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).
Pat Richards claimed a stunning five-try haul as leaders Wigan destroyed Catalans Dragons 58-0 to maintain their 100 per cent start to the Engage Super League season.
Sean O'Loughlin and Darrell Goulding also went over in the first half before Thomas Leuluai and George Carmont (two) got in on the act after the break.
Richards converted all but one of his side's 10 tries in a personal 38-point haul for the rampant Warriors.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
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Temperature: 9 C to 23 C
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