Craig Gower almost inspires London Broncos upset

LONDON BRONCOS headed to Hull FC looking to pick up their first victory of the season but it was the home side that claimed both points as they saw out the game with 12 men to win 22-14.

It took until the 16th minute for the first score of the match. After some sustained pressure from Hull, Tom Briscoe stepped inside his man just metres from the try line and touched down to give the home side the lead. Danny Tickle missed the conversion.

Broncos had struggled to get a foothold in the game but a moment of class from Aussie duo Chad Randall and Michael Robertson leveled things up. Randall received the ball from captain Craig Gower and looped it out to Robertson on the right wing who squeezed over tight to the touchline. After much deliberation from the video ref the try was awarded but Michael Witt failed with his conversion.

Hull quickly regained their lead after a smart offload from former Cronulla Shark Brett Seymour allowed Joe Westerman in to score. The try however came at a cost as Joe Westerman immediately left the pitch with a dislocated shoulder. Tickle converted.

The Black and Whites increased their lead before half time as a smart kick from Richard Horne on the fifth tackle was deflected into the path of Australian journeyman Wade McKinnon who ghosted in for the try. Tickle again converted to take the scores to 16-4 at the interval.

Hull FC were quick out of the traps in the second half. A powerful run from Willie Manu opened up the Broncos defense and he released Kirk Yeaman for the try.

The tide of game changed however in the 60th minute when Sam Moa saw red for a reckless high tackle on Julien Rinaldi. The big Tongan led with his shoulder and the tackle left Rinaldi out cold.

With Hull reduced to 12 men London Broncos came back into the match and enjoyed a great amount of possession in the home team’s half.

Luke Dorn capitalised on a gap in the Hull defense and jinked his way through to score his first try of the season.

As the Broncos began seeing more of the ball, Gower’s influence on the game grew. The former Penrith man followed up his own grubber kick behind Hull’s tryline and his tackle on Will Sharpe saw the ball spill kindly for Chris Melling to score the simplest of tries.

The Broncos went out in search of further tries but were met by a resolute Hull backline and any thought of a comeback was dashed when a promising move was called back for a dubious forward pass decision. The London team were unlucky to finish eight points short at 14-22 but showed a lot of promise and that first elusive win won’t be too far away.

Don’t miss the London Broncos at home this weekend against Nathan Brown’s Huddersfield Giants. Kick off 2pm Sunday, 26 February at the Twickenham Stoop.