Hull win Wildcats battle

Two tries from Richard Whiting helped Hull to a bruising 12-8 victory over Wakefield in a scrappy Super League encounter.

A bruising contest at the KC Stadium saw Wakefield dominate in terms of possession, but Hull looked to be more dangerous when they did have the ball and always looked more likely to score.

The Wildcats took the lead on 11 minutes through Daryl Millard, but two tries from Whiting, on 20 minutes and just before the break, did the damage for the hosts.

Wakefield seemed bereft of guile and attacking invention as Hull mostly dealt with their strong-arm approach, until Damien Blanch scored in the corner 90 seconds from the end.

John Kear told his men to turn down the kick at goal in order to get the ball back and have one last set of six, but the last throw of the dice did not pay off and Hull held out for the win.

Bright start

The Wildcats started the game brighter and Ben Jeffries almost scored the opening try of the night after nine minutes as he lost the ball just a yard from the Hull line.

It was only a short reprieve for the hosts though as Wakefield scored just two minutes later following a good high kick from Jefferies into the corner.

Whiting rose with Millard and got a hand on the ball, but the knockdown stayed in play and the Fijian international reacted quicker to ground the ball for Wakefield.

Former Hull and Hull KR star Paul Cooke was booed throughout his preparations for the conversion attempt, and one of the biggest cheers of the night greeted him as he pushed the ball wide.

Wakefield penalties hurt them badly and from another Hull got their first try on 20 minutes, when Jordan Tansey was allowed to run across field in from the left wing before slipping a neat pass for Whiting to dive in under the posts.

Video ref

Sam Obst had a try rightly ruled out by video referee Richard Silverwood as Cooke had kicked the ball out of Tansey's hands during the scrappy build-up.

Wakefield enjoyed the territorial advantage but could not find the try line, and it was Hull who scored next, just seconds before half time, as Whiting grabbed his second score.

Richard Horne's high bomb saw Whiting get the better of Luke George in the air, and he did well to gather the ball as he tumbled to the ground before grounding the ball and ensuring a 12-4 half time advantage.

The Wildcats again dominated possession in the second half, especially in the opening 20 minutes, but chances were few and far between as they tried, unsuccessfully, to batter down the Hull defence with only brute force.

Hull, by contrast, came a lot closer to scoring with their smaller share of the ball, with Cooke and George both having to do well to clear the danger inside their own in-goal area.

Wakefield did finally find a way through when Jeffries broke the line and fed Blanch in the right corner, but it was too late to alter the outcome of a largely defensive stalemate.