Rugby

REPORT

An outstanding performance from veteran Australian forward Craig Fitzgibbon proved to be the difference for Hull FC as they maintained their 100% home record with a gritty win over Bradford Bulls.

Two tries from Jordan Tansey and one from Lee Radford secured the points for Richard Agar’s men on paper, but on a wet and miserable night, it was the sheer determination and endeavour of Fitzgibbon that dragged the home side over the line.

The 32-year-old former Sydney Rooster looked out on his feet for most of the contest but called on all of the quality that earned him 19 caps for his country to dominate in both attack and defence as Hull got back on track following last weekend’s hammering at Wigan Warriors.

Bradford were hamstrung by the late withdrawal of playmaker Matt Orford through illness and short of Paul Sykes’ first-half penalty and Stuart Reardon’s late consolation, offered only a little in attack as they slipped to a fourth loss of the season.

Hull were also hit by a late pull out as Richard Horne failed to shake off a rib injury, and the absence of the pair was noticeable in the opening exchanges as neither side created a genuine chance in a tortuous first quarter, with Sykes’ 16th-minute penalty the only incident of note.

Peter Cusack put the ball down close to the line for Hull and Mark Calderwood produced a crunching tackle to dump Bradford winger Reardon into touch as he shaped to score, but things did not liven up until the final few minutes of the opening half.

Willie Manu thought he had given Hull the lead when he jumped in at the corner after Calderwood’s pass, only for referee Ben Thaler to deem that he had not grounded correctly.

Thaler did give his approval to Hull’s next appeal, though, Tansey outpacing the Bradford defence to get a hand to Jordan Turner’s opportunistic grubber kick just 10 seconds before the half-time hooter.

The difference in Hull’s approach was evident after the restart, with their forwards, Fitzgibbon and Ewan Dowes in particular, carrying the ball with a great purpose and Bradford had little answer to their momentum.

Hull and Tansey grabbed a second score after 47 minutes.

Long forced a drop-out to lay the foundations for the try, which came when Fitzgibbon kept his cool to play Tansey in at the corner after the ball had sprung loose following Kirk Yeaman’s determined surge to the line.

Bradford had little answer to Hull opening a two-score lead and even when they did get their hands on the ball, they found the exceptional Fitzgibbon to be an immovable object in the Hull line.

With Steve McNamara’s side out on their feet, it was left to former Bradford forward Lee Radford to seal the win with a close-range dart from dummy half 10 minutes from the end, before Reardon slipped in at the corner with 70 seconds remaining.

POST-MATCH COMMENTS

Hull coach Richard Agar hailed the impact made by Craig Fitzgibbon after the Australian's outstanding display in the 18-6 triumph over Bradford.

The Australian forward played all 80 minutes at the KC Stadium as the Airlie Birds made it four wins from four at home this season.

Agar was quick to single out Fitzgibbon for special praise afterwards - though he warned Hull not to take the former Sydney Rooster for granted.

"He's a smart player. One minute he shows the opposition he's resting and the next he's back at them," he said.

"He knows when to take a blow. We should never underestimate his efforts or take them for granted. He's proving how good he is and people might come to expect it but he won't play at this level every week."

"But we're delighted with him and you can see the difference he has made in the changing rooms."

Victory came at a price for the Black and Whites, as stand-off Richard Horne picked up a rib injury before the game and winger Mark Calderwood limped off with a potentially serious hamstring injury.

Agar was happy with his side's display despite a scratchy kicking game, admitting they had come out on top in "a bit of an arm wrestle".

"I thought that after the first half we needed to improve and we did," he added. "In the conditions we made too many errors and at half-time we thought we were cutting corners."

"I thought our kicking game was scratchy too, but Bradford are tough defensively and we had to work hard for what we got. It was a tough night."

"It bucketed it down with rain and was a bit of an arm wrestle. Our on line defence was terrific."

The Bulls not helped by a sickness bug running through the squad. Australian Matt Orford fell ill shortly before kick-off, while Brett Kearney played despite not having trained in the build-up.

"Matt was pretty ill during all week, as were a few of the boys," coach Steve McNamara said.

"That said, I'm extremely proud of them all and the effort they've put in. It's been a pretty tough period for our group, so with the amount of effort they've put in, it's disappointing not to get something out of the game."

"It was one of those real tight games, but when you look at the game overall we conceded one with the last play of the first half with a scrum, one from a ball that comes loose and one from dummy half. It was never going to be a points fest."

Despite seeing his side slip to a fourth defeat of the campaign, McNamara is adamant his squad can challenge the big guns this season.

"We've had the toughest first seven fixtures that the computer has dished out," he said.

"We've hit some of the top teams straight up. We're confident with how we'll go for the rest of the season. We're disappointed not to pick up the points but there are plenty more to play for."