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Hull 6 Hull KR 42
In a perfect world, Hull Kingston Rovers would have won 10-5, the scoreline from their most famous derby victory at Wembley in 1980.
It wasn't, of course, but even if it had been it is hard to imagine the players, officials and supporters of Hull KR being any happier – or their opponents looking more miserable and forlorn – than they were after engage Super League's newest club secured top-flight status with a thumping victory over Hull.
Eight tries to one was an accurate reflection of the difference between two sides who have now shared derby honours in 2007 with Rovers outplaying their greatest rivals from first to last as they ran up their biggest win of the season.
The ultimate team performance did for a deeply disappointing Hull, whose frustration at their own error-prone ways was compounded by the near-perfect way in which Rovers went about completing their most important win since last year's grand final defeat of Widnes.
Paul Cooke, playing his first match at the KC Stadium since his move across the River Hull in mid-season, rose to the occasion by setting up four of his new team's tries to silence the boo-boys whose screams of 'Judas!' only served to bring out the best in him.
The stand-off was ably supported by every single one of his team-mates, from young full-back Ian Hardman, who took everything Hull could throw at him in his stride, to the ageless Stanley Gene, Rovers' very own Mr Perpetual Motion who came off the bench to set a towering lead up front.
There were many who doubted Gene's sanity when he turned his back on the chance to end his career at Bradford by joining Rovers for a second spell but the Papuan once again demonstrated where his heart lies with another inspired and inspiring effort.
Gene crowned a day to remember with the 99th try of his career, a typically forceful effort which saw him defy the attentions of three defenders to burrow over from acting-half close to the Hull line after an error by Willie Manu had gifted Rovers possession.
Cooke missed the conversion attempt but at 36-6 and with little more than six minutes remaining, it mattered not for the writing was on the wall for the home side whose misery was then compounded when a long cut-out pass from Cooke sent Rhys Lovegrove over for his second try.
The conversion from the left touchline sailed over, not that many Hull fans were left inside the stadium to see the final blow for over 10,000 had already headed off for the car parks and no longer cared what Cooke or his beloved Rovers did.
"We're a little bit embarrassed by what happened out there, Rovers beat us to the finish with everything they did: they ran with more purpose and tackled with real commitment," said Hull's coach Peter Sharp, whose team remains fourth in Super League despite the defeat.
"We'll be okay. We'll dust ourselves off and get stuck into our two remaining matches. We certainly won't be as full of ourselves as we were today."
Hull had won five of their last six matches but were second best on all fronts yesterday as Rovers opened up a 16-0 lead by the interval before adding another five tries following the restart.
Their opener was special in that it was set up by one Hull-born player and finished off by another, quite an achievement for a team featuring 12 overseas players, with Cooke's high kick paving the way for Jason Netherton to score in the corner when Gareth Raynor failed to defuse the danger.
Rovers extended their lead with two tries by Luke Dyer, the former Castleford winger who, having experienced the pain of relegation last season, was desperate not to do so again this time around.
Dyer's first came when Hull scrum-half Mathew Head's tricky pass was spilled by Danny Tickle for Scott Murrell to scoop up the loose ball before sending the winger over. His second also came from a basic error by the hosts with Hutch Maiava passing the ball straight to the Australian, who held off Shaun Briscoe and Tony on a 60-metre run to the line.
A try by Mark Lennon, who pounced on a sliderule low kick to the corner from Cooke in the 53rd minute, plus the third of Cooke's five goal, took Hull KR clear before Hull grabbed their solitary score when Richard Horne sent Danny Washbrook over by the posts.
However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Cooke sent out a long pass to the left for Lovegrove to evade Briscoe on a touchline-hugging run to the corner and two minutes later James Webster added a sensational try with a stylish 35-metre run through the heart of the Hull defence.
Further scores by Gene and Lovegrove made the victory so much sweeter for Rovers to leave coach Justin Morgan effusive with praise for a group of players who started the season as short-odds favourites to go straight back into National League One.
"It's a great day for the club and I'm really proud of the players and especially pleased for the officials like Colin Hutton, Phil Lowe and Neil Hudgell, people who are red and white through and through," said Morgan.
"I'm also thrilled for the fans. They turned up in their droves today and sang the opposition out of the stadium which was great."
Hull: Tony; Briscoe, Hall, Yeaman, Raynor; R Horne, Head, Dowes, Godwin, King, Radford, Manu, Tickle. Substitutes: Whiting, Maiava, Wheeldon, Washbrook.
Hull Kingston Rovers: Hardman; Lennon, Lovegrove, Dyer, Bauer; Cooke, Webster; Vella, Fisher, Tandy, O'Neill, Chester, Murrell. Substitutes: Gene, J Netherton, Gannon, Tangata-Toa.
Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).
Big match talking point from KC Stadium. . .
A great win for Hull KR but how much was it a case of Rovers playing well or Hull simply lacking motivation? After all, with two capacity crowds at the KC Stadium this year, surely it's in their interest that the Hull derby continues next season.
Hull KR were hot yesterday, they completed their sets and finished off with aplomb. Hull never had a look in but only because their opponents swamped them with their boundless enthusiasm. To suggest Hull were prepared to 'throw' the game for commercial reasons is a nonsense: Rovers were pretty much certain of Super League status irrespective of what happened at the KC Stadium because of Salford's weakness. The pain they felt at defeat was writ large on the faces of all the Hull players.
So where do Hull KR go from here?
It is important that Rovers strengthen for next season and coach Justin Morgan still needs to find three or four players to join the two he has already secured for 2008 – Hull full-back Shaun Briscoe and Jake Webster, a Kiwi international three-quarter signed from New Zealand Warriors.
And what of Hull, where does the defeat leave them?
Hull had built some useful momentum as the play-offs approach and yesterday's performance was not what they needed, especially as their two remaining Super League fixtures are at Leeds on Friday night and at home to Bradford the following week.
Referees have come in for a lot of stick this season, how did Steve Ganson go yesterday?
Although Peter Sharp will disagree – Hull's coach described the match officials' performance as "embarrassing"– yesterday marked a high point for refereeing in Super League XII.
Mr Ganson awarded just seven penalties, five against Rovers, and waited until the last minute of the first half to blow for the first time. After a year of matches plagued by whistle-happy referees who are overly-keen on penalising the slightest indiscretion, Mr Ganson deserves praise for letting the game flow yesterday.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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