Warrington 32-20 Hull
Depleted Hull succumb to defeat against Wolves
In a competitive clash at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium, Warrington overcame an injury-stricken Hull side to record their first victory of the 2008 engage Super League season on Friday night.
Hull FC took a surprise lead early on through a Danny Tickle penalty, however Chris Bridge gave match favourites Warrington the lead after 12 minutes. Fantastic play by Martin Gleeson opened up a gap, and half-back Bridge was on hand to support and score in the corner. Briers failed with the subsequent following conversion.
And things went from bad to worse for the Humberside club when Wolves debutant Chris Hicks got his name on the scoresheet four minutes later, again finishing well in the corner. But once again the valiant efforts of the home side were not built on, with a second failed conversion from Briers.
Hull did not give up, and Peter Sharp will not be angered by their effort from such a young squad starting with Tommy Lee at scrum-half. Craig Hall managed to get a four-pointer back after 22 minutes when a punt through was missed by Bridge after losing his footing, meaning that Hall had a clear run to the line, to make the score 8-8 all, with Tickle punting over the conversion attempt.
But two tries in quick succession epitomised Hull's first outing, as they were tore to shreds by the impressive new scrum-half Michael Monaghan, who orchestrated things well in the middle. Vinnie Anderson was the first benefactor of weak defensive work, with gaps appearing considerably. Anderson sliced through the defence; King finished off a second try barely minutes later, with youngster Kevin Penny doing well down the wing, giving the Australian international an easy finish. Both were converted by Briers to give Warrington a massive twelve point lead.
But Hull did manage to regain some hope on the half-time siren when Hall crossed for his second of the game.
Despite a positive half-time teamtalk from Hull coach Peter Sharp, Hull seemed to goto sleep, and the game was as good as lost after 46 minutes when Westwood crossed to restore the Wolves' 12 point lead.
And the game was all but ended when Bridge crossed for his second of the game seven minutes from time, despite a Graeme Horne try virtually straight after restoring Hull's credibility, who were left licking their wounds after such a tough encounter.
Warrington meanwhile have already been tagged as favourites for the engage Super League Grand Final, after a confident performance. The club seem to ooze class from one to thirteen against Hull, with Monaghan, Briers, King all performing extremely well.
Full time score, Warrington Wolves 32, Hull FC 20.
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