Round 21
Les Catalans Dragons 18 l. Hull FC 34

2007 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Hull FC boost play off hopes defeating Catalans
Sun July 22, 2007
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Catalans Dragons continued their engage Super League slump as their preparations for next weekend's Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan were severely dented.

But Hull FC boosted their top six play-off hopes with their third successive victory.

Catalans went ahead in the sixth minute when Hull were caught offside and after Gregory Mounis had been held short, they opened a gap for Adam Mogg to score, but Thomas Bosc failed with the conversion attempt.

Hull hit back strongly and were denied a try on video evidence after Willie Manu swept over from a Thomas Lee kick.

Motu Tony bravely dropped on the ball when it rebounded from a post from a Stacey Jones' kick through and the Hull fullback then initiated a 16th-minute try to give them the lead.

After a 40-metre break, Tony fed Matt Sing and he opened up a gap for Kirk Yeoman who drew the defence before feeding Danny Tickle on a home run. Tickle turned his own effort into a six-pointer.

Two minutes later, Hull moved into an eight-point lead when Lee broke clear to crash over and Tickle was again spot-on with the conversion.

However, the French side's pressure told in the 26th minute when Stacey Jones again hit the root of an upright with a chip kick and it angled away for Luke Quigley to touchdown.

The try was allowed on video evidence and Bosc reduced Catalans' deficit to only two points.

But Hull extended their lead on the half-hour mark when Younes Khattabi failed to defuse a Thomas Lee kick and Gareth Raynor picked up the loose ball and swept in for the touchdown to which Tickle tacked on the conversion points.

Five minutes from the interval, Catalans were right back in the game when David Ferriol crashed through a weak-tackling Hull rearguard to score, but Bosc pulled his conversion attempt across the face of the post.

Three minutes into the second period Richard Horne scored a brilliant 30-metre try after a break by Hutch Maiava. Tickle kicked the conversion

Catalans' influential fullback Clint Greenshields was sin-binned in the 51st minute for holding down and Hull's Raynor followed suit three minutes later for the same offense after Khattabi had left the Hull defence stranded from an interception.

Sing appeared to have put the game out of Catalans' reach in the 62nd minute when he out-jumped the French defence to touchdown from a Horne cross-kick but, against the wind, the conversion attempt flew across the face of the posts.

A long pass by Jones in the 70th minute stranded the Hull defence and Bosc ran in for an easy try which he had no problem in turning into a six-pointer.

Hull finally wrapped up the game four minutes from the hooter when Tickle swept home after the Catalans defence were unable to handle a towering Lee kick and Hull's man of the match Tickle kicked the conversion from in front of the posts.

Catalans tried desperately in the closing minutes to get back into the game but they were well held by a Hull defence which had been jittery at periods particularly in the first half against a powerful Dragons pack.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

Article: Sharp hails Hull players


Airlie News - Hull FC v Catalans
Thu July 19, 2007
Source: www.hullfc.com

Hull FC xoach Peter Sharp looks at this weekend's game against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan, where his side look to make it three wins in a row for the first time this season.

Hull are also looking for revenge having drawn in the league at the KC Stadium and lost in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup to the French side this season.

Sharp is expecting a tough game against the Dragons at the weekend and he believes his side will have to play at least as well as they did in beating Harlequins 20-8 last Friday, if not better.

"We are going to have to play at the least as well as we did against the Quins to give ourselves a chance," he said. "They have the wood on us this season having drawn and won at the KC this season.

"But that should be a little incentive for us to turn things around, although so is making it three wins on the bounce. That's an excellent target and one we certainly want to achieve."

Sharp believes last weeks victory over Harlequins hasn't just given his side a needed confidence booster but also given them a bit of practice to face the Dragons.

"They are two very similar sides," said Sharp. "They are an awkward team to play just like the Quins so I suppose we got a bit of practice in last Friday.

"Like the Quins they are a workmanlike team who make a habit of putting you off your game.

"They spoil, frustrate you and then they pounce and make the most of your errors. They are good at that and more importantly they have the players to do it."

Sharp believes patience will be a key, adding: "We need to be patient but we also need to ensure we don't make unnecessary errors.

"The last thing you want is to hand them cheap possession, especially in hot and humid conditions. That is a receipt for disaster."

News sent by: www.hullfc.com

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