There have been some encouraging performances from Hull in the first half of this season but given the personnel Lee Radford had to make do without here, it is well within reason to suggest this was their performance of the campaign so far.
Victories at Salford are certainly not the formality they used to be. In the space of eight months, the Red Devils have become one of the league’s most impressive sides, and they sit second in the table on merit as the season passes the halfway stage.
But, for a Hull side without four members of last season’s Super League Dream Team and their star half-back Marc Sneyd, this was an ideal way to prepare for next weekend’s eagerly-awaited Challenge Cup quarter-final with the leaders, Castleford. “We didn’t fight as hard as we did last year in winning it to just give it away,” said the Hull coach Radford, whose side moved back into the top four following this encouraging victory.
It would be foolish though to suggest Salford, one of the league’s real surprise packages this season, are on the slide following back-to-back defeats for the first time in 2017. They too have a cup quarter-final next weekend – but Ian Watson’s side looked noticeably tired here.
Watson has been fortunate in that he has not had a plethora of injuries to contend with this term, but the effects of two double-header weekends in six weeks perhaps took their toll. “They taught us a bit of a lesson,” he lamented afterwards.
The damage was done by the visitors in the first half. They led 22-0 by the interval thanks to tries from Fetuli Talanoa, Danny Washbrook and two for the half-back Albert Kelly. The Australian’s arrival from cross-city rivals Hull KR sparked some debate at the end of last season, but with 17 tries in 16 games so far in a Hull shirt, he has proven an inspired signing.
“He’s a gambler but he’s talented,” Radford said of Kelly. Hull were able to rest him in the final quarter, and while Salford were much improved after the break, tries from Niall Evalds and Weller Hauraki were mere consolation, especially with the visitors responding via Carlos Tuimavave and Jamie Shaul to round off a performance that puts them in good shape for next weekend’s tie with the league leaders.
Salford: O’Brien; Bibby, Welham, Sa’u, Evalds; Lui, Dobson; Tasi, Brining, Hasson, Murdoch-Masila, Hauraki, Griffin. Interchange Kopczak, Krasniqi, Carney, Lannon. Tries Evaulds, Hauraki Goal Dobson
Hull: Shaul; Michaels, Fonua, Tuimavave, Talanoa; Kelly, Connor; Bowden, Washbrook, Watts, Manu, Turgut, Thompson. Interchange Fash, Matongo, Downs, Griffin. Tries Talanoa, Kelly 2, Washbrook, Tuimavave, Shaul. Goals Connor 5. Referee: B Thaler.
