Wakefield Trinity 22 Hull FC 34: Shaul is shining light as Hull earn rare win

With 44 minutes gone here at Belle Vue, and the scores still locked at 12-12, maybe he thought the Hull supporters, with a sobering Good Friday defeat against the Robins still fresh in the memory, needed something to cheer them up.

By the end of play, though, as Hull finished strongly to pick up only their second win in eight games, relieving huge pressure on head coach Peter Gentle, their arch-rivals’ shocking annihilation was merely an added Easter bonus.

They also have a new star to behold, 20-year-old full-back Jamie Shaul making as good a Super League debut as you are likely to see in scoring twice, including one brilliant 60m solo effort.

However, it was the fine kicking of Richard Horne – restored to stand-off to facilitate Shaul’s arrival and momentarily curing the East Yorkshire club’s half-back problems – and the return of prop Andy Lynch from illness that laid the foundation for this much-needed win.

Gentle ditched his bizarre tactic of using back-rows Joe Westerman and Richard Whiting as half-backs and, instead, actually picked a pair of half-backs in Horne and Aaron Heremaia.

Wakefield, who defeated Castleford Tigers on Good Friday and had young forward Chris Annakin in purposeful form, started well and were competitive, trailing just 18-16 after Lee Smith struck on the hour mark.

But their defence disintegrated soon after for Heremaia to waltz through and, when Smith charged out trying to take an intercept, it was the Kiwi scrum-half who sent Ben Crooks striding over to add the gloss before Tom Briscoe rubbed it in to finish off Wakefield.

It had not, though, started so well for the visitors who looked bereft of confidence.

Just as he did against Hull KR, Galea spilled a pass near his own 20m and, just as Rovers scored then, so did Trinity here.

Briscoe conceded a penalty for a high shot on Danny Kirmond and then the England winger was unusually trampled over by ex-Rovers wideman Peter Fox as he latched onto good approach play by Tim Smith and Danny Washbrook.

Wakefield marched up field in the re-start set, aided by ripped possession gifting them further ball, but there was still no excuse for the gaping hole in the middle of their defence when Ben Cockayne crabbed infield from the left and sent Kirmond surging through to score, Sykes converting.

Danny Tickle dropped more ball, but referee James Child deemed it had been stripped illegally and the relief among the Hull ranks was tangible as it finally allowed them to get into Wakefield’s half.

It did not yield anything and Wakefield continued to dominate until, despite all their anaemic form, Hull somehow managed to forge 12-10 ahead through a moment of brilliance allied to a moment of sheer madness.

The brilliance came courtesy of Shaul, the former bricklayer who was on dual-registration at York City Knights earlier this season, with a breathtaking try in the 21st minute.

Coming in at dummy-half 40 metres from his own line, he noticed Andy Raleigh was offside at marker and quickly beat the first line of defence.

However, the full-back then injected more pace to round Richie Mathers down the middle and found yet another gear to keep the desperate Cockayne at bay.

Tickle improved and did so again after a comical score on the half-hour.

Mark O’Meley had annoyingly spilled on the first tackle after Hull had earned a penalty in great attacking position.

But from the scrum, Wakefield’s Tim Smith through a wild pass blind to no one.

Heremaia picked up and, before being dragged in to touch, flung inside to Crooks who gratefully went over.

The stupidity of it all was that the scrum had been reset once with scrum-half Smith having already tried the same move. Crooks read it easily the first time to apply pressure on Dean Collis and had done just the same second time around.

Hull’s own stupidity crept back in, though, when Richard Whiting was penalised for shoving at the play-the-ball allowing Sykes to level at the break.

On the back of a raft of penalties, Hull struck first after the break when Shaul latched on to Horne’s ricocheting grubber in the 46th minute for his second try, Tickle kicking the extras.

Inevitably, more ill-discipline allowed Wakefield a way back in on the hour, Joe Westerman foolishly messing around at the play-the-ball and Mathers’s smart pass seeing Lee Smith crash over in his 150th Super League appearance.

But it was Hull who finished strongest, meaning Collis’s score in stoppage-time was a mere consolation.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats: Mathers; Fox, Collis, Lyne, Cockayne; Sykes, T Smith; Poore, Aiton, Wilkes. Lauitiiti, Kirmond, Washbrook. Substitutes: L Smith, Raleigh, Amor, Annakin.

Hull FC: Shaul; Lineham, Arundel, Crooks, Briscoe; Horne, Heremaia; Watts, Houghton, Lynch, Galea, Tickle, Westerman. Substitutes: O’Meley, Whiting, Johnson, Crookes.

Referee: J Child (Dewsbury).