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Majesty |
A 20-man squad that was realistically an 18-man squad was further depleted in training as Remi Casty picked up an injury. And yet the Dragons turned up at the KC Stadium in Hull in good spirits. Casty's injury meant that Kane Bentley came onto the bench as the last 17 fit players went out to do battle. Richard Swain was missing for the hosts, but surely their squad would be stronger than the Dragons. Wouldn't it? |
The early going on a warm afternoon was largely in the Dragons favour and it was they that posted first points through Adam Mogg. Stacey Jones pulled the strings all afternoon and his slide-rule kick was knocked on by the defence. From the scrum it was flung wide for Mogg to cut inside the sliding defence to score. Thomas Bosc made it 6-0 after 6 minutes. Hull's first chance for points came by way of Catalan indiscipline seven minutes later. A penalty right in front for holding down was converted by Danny Tickle for 6-2, but the Dragons went up the other end to reassert their authority. A break from the once-again outstanding Clint Greenshields and a quick play-the-ball saw Jones spin a long pass out wide which Younes Khattabi tipped back inside to Sergeant Wilson who scored. Bosc kicked the goal from the other side for 12-2.
It got better still on the half hour as Mogg barged his way over for a second off Bosc's short ball, despite the attentions of Gareth Raynor. Bosc couldn't convert this one, but at 16-2 up the Dragons looked comfortable and in control. That sense of control slipped a little when Willie Manu, a handful all day, stepped past Mogg and picked out Shaun Briscoe from a flood of support to score Hull's first try. Tickle goaled for 16-8 with six first-half minutes remaining. And it should have been a more comfortable half-time lead than that, Greenshields and Jones somehow managing to butcher a gilt edged opportunity after the full-back's long break.
The opening period of the second-half was real horror show from a Dragons perspective. Completely incapable of retaining possession and giving away a stream of penalties is no way to go about business. Experienced players were making poor judgments and gifting possession and territory to Hull. Eventually it would tell. Three consecutive penalty awards got Hull downfield and as the Dragons defence was rearraging after Andrew Bentley suffered a nasty cut to the forehead, Paul King crashed over under the sticks. Tickle goaled and it was 16-14 after 51 minutes. Seven minutes later, another string of three consecutive penalties got Hull within range for Tickle to square things up at 16 apiece. And three minutes after that, Hull took the lead with a Richard Horne drop-goal after Justin Murphy had been forced to concede a drop-out.
Slowly but surely, the Dragons got themselves back up. Some solid sets seemed to reinstil some confidence into the side and an unusual last tackle option squared us back up at 17 each. With play right underneath the Hull sticks, Jones and Bosc were both set for the one-pointer, but Jérome Guisset read the play well with defenders rushing out to the half-backs and decided to have a pop himself from dummy-half. It just about got over to level things up and incur the wrath of Le Union de Piliers. |
Made a big impression off the bench |
The real turning point came ten minutes from time. Jones kicked through, but Wayne Godwin had taken him out late. The penalty was forthcoming from where Briscoe caught it and Godwin was despatched to the sin-bin. Bosc potted the goal to put the Catalans back in front. If that was the moment the game turned, then in the 73rd minute was the champagne moment as the two best players on the paddock combined. Jones chipped over when everybody seemed set for the kick to touch. It just about sat up for the onrushing Greenshields. He got to it just before Briscoe and ran the remaining 10 metres to score. Bosc converted and with three minutes remaining added a second drop-goal for 26-17. Hull had the last word though. Deep in injury time, Tommy Lee spun a ball wide for Manu. He found Raynor coming back on the angle and Sid Domic was on hand to round off a good score. Tickle's goal ensured a nervy last half-minute, but a spilled Hull ball fell into Jones' hands as the hooter sounded and he hoofed the ball into the stands to end a tense affair.
That was nerve-wracking. To have just 17 able bodies, and that reduced to 16 after Andrew Bentley's head wound, and come up with a win on someone else's midden is a huge achievement. Willie Manu was immense for the home side and couldn't have done more for the cause. Wayne Godwin, up until his late indiscretion, was causing all sorts of problems out of dummy-half. However, when it came to stars, they were firmly in the Dragons' firmament. The player of the season points are only awarded for league games, so your correspondent is tempted to do away with tradition and name five men-of-the-match. Cyrille Gossard was immense. He ran and tackled himself to a virtual standstill, adding to his growing reputation. Kane Bentley finally came off the bench with more than an hour gone and really freshened things up around the ruck. Adam Mogg had a strong game, not just with his two tries, but also running intelligent lines and knocking folk down in defence. Clint Greenshields was... well, Clint Greenshields. He's superb, but even with this great all-round display it was not enough to be the man of the match. That was the man we call Le Petit Generale. Stacey Jones. Everything he did today bore a hint of real, pure class. He was the difference. If he'd been in black and white, Hull would have won. He wasn't and it's the blood and gold in the draw for the semis where Wigan, Bradford and St Helens await. Let's hope sense reigns and the game goes to Paris.
MATCH FACTS
DRAGONS 26-23 HULL FC
| | DRAGONS | T | G | DG | | HULL FC | T | G | DG |
| 1 | Greenshields | 1 | | | 1 | Briscoe | 1 | | |
| 2 | Murphy | | | | 2 | Sing | | | |
| 4 | Mogg | 2 | | | 4 | Domic | 1 | | |
| 3 | Wilson | 1 | | | 3 | Yeaman | | | |
| 25 | Khattabi | | | | 5 | Raynor | | | |
| 14 | Bosc | | 4 | 1 | 7 | R Horne | | | 1 |
| 7 | Jones | | | | 23 | Lee | | | |
| 10 | Guisset | | | 1 | 8 | Dowes | | | |
| 26 | Quigley | | | | 18 | Godwin | | | |
| 15 | Griffi | | | | 10 | Carvell | | | |
| 17 | Gossard | | | | 11 | Radford | | | |
| 21 | Touxagas | | | | 17 | Manu | | | |
| 19 | Chan | | | | 16 | Tickle | | 5 | |
| 28 | A Bentley | | | | 14 | Tony | | | |
| 27 | K Bentley | | | | 13 | Washbrook | | | |
| 8 | Ferriol | | | | 15 | King | 1 | | |
| 16 | Teixido | | | | 21 | Maiava | | | |
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