Second row Josh Griffin crossed for three tries in the second half as Hull FC ended the weekend at St James' Park with a vital win; the result moves the Black and Whites to within four points of the Betfred Super League play-off places and denied Warrington Wolves returning top
Monday 5 June 2023 06:24, UK
Josh Griffin was the unlikely hat-trick hero as Hull FC closed out the Betfred Super League Magic Weekend with a 30-18 win to deny Warrington Wolves the chance to return to the top of the table.
Connor Wrench's early try on his return from injury after nine months out and George Williams' finish helped the Wolves into a 12-6 lead at half-time in Newcastle, with Hull FC having responded through Danny Houghton's converted score from close range.
Adam Swift's finish and forward Griffin's two tries within the first 11 minutes following the restart swung the game in the Black and Whites' favour though, and the latter's third put them six points clear going into the final quarter of an hour after Wrench had hit back for the Wolves with his second.
Tex Hoy made certain of the win with six minutes to go after crossing for his side's sixth try, with the result moving Hull FC to within four points of the play-off places and keeping Warrington second on points difference from Catalans Dragons.
The match was just three minutes old when Warrington took the lead, with Wrench leaping to catch a last-tackle kick out to the right by Williams and make an immediate impact on his return from an ACL injury with a try converted by Stefan Ratchford.
England international Williams went from provider to scorer 10 minutes later, punishing an error from the Black and Whites by scooping up the ball and finishing under the posts for another converted try.
Hull FC, who moments before that score had been threatening up the other end of the field, hit back straight away though after retaining possession from the restart. Darnell McIntosh did well to get up for a kick and knocked it back down into the hands of Houghton for the hooker to finish for a try converted by Jake Clifford.
Defence then came to the fore for Tony Smith's side as they successfully resisted a string of attacks from the Wolves, who also saw a drop-goal attempt from Williams go wide on the final play of the half after kicking to touch from a penalty in their own territory.
Seeking to erase that six-point deficit, Hull FC again managed to win possession from the restart as the second half kicked off, but Griffin was deemed to have been held up over the try-line by the video referee.
However, the Black and Whites got back within two in the 43rd minute after hooker Houghton recovered the ball following a knock-on by Danny Walker, followed by Clifford dinking through a grubber kick which was chased down by Swift for his sixth try of the season.
Two tries from Griffin then turned the game on its head. The first saw him take a pass from scrum-half Clifford and burst through the line to finish, and the second came as Jake Trueman put a kick in field which the back row plucked out of the air and spun round to score from.
Clifford's conversion attempt for the second of those hit the posts and Warrington were back within two in the 57th minute after winger Wrench took a cut-out pass from Matt Dufty to finish wide on the right followed by Ratchford adding the extras.
But Griffin put Hull FC within touching distance of the win after finish a scintillating team move from inside their own half which saw Swift provide the assist after a fine break, with full-back Hoy putting the seal on a memorable win in the 74th minute.
Hull FC head coach Tony Smith:
"We had to be right on our game and I thought we were for most of it. It is hard to come from behind against Warrington and they are pretty good when they get their noses ahead.
"We had to dig our way back into that game. We found some energy in that second half."
Warrington Wolves head coach Daryl Powell:
"We didn't deal with their kick-offs which are exceptionally difficult to deal with and then we kept conceding from kicks which you don't want to see. We had a lot of opportunities in good attacking positions, and we just weren't quite good enough to take them.
"I thought we defended some of those edge plays poorly then we just couldn't find our cutting edge at any point. It is in there, we have just got to find it again."
Player of the match Josh Griffin:
"We had to dig deep in that first half and grind but in the second half we really showed what we are capable of. I am getting better every week I feel and it is something I am really enjoying [being in the back row].
"Our fans are the best in the league. They have had to stick with us through some really tough times. We need to keep knocking off these wins."
Warrington are back in action on Sky Sports on Saturday, June 10 when they host Huddersfield Giants (5pm). Hull FC travel to Leigh Leopards on Friday, June 9 (8pm).
