Hull enjoy opening round win over Wakefield

v BYE

Hull FC battled hard against harsh conditions and a strong Wakefield Trinity side to claim a narrow 12-8 victory at the Beaumont Legal Stadium in the season opener this afternoon.

In a first half littered with penalties, the Airlie Birds were 6-2 ahead at the interval. A hat-trick of goals in front of the sticks from Marc Sneyd, followed by two points from Sam Williams, gave the visitors the upper hand.

Tries came at a premium on a slippery pitch, but ultimately Jake Connor sealed the points with a 68th minute winner after Scott Grix's earlier try.

And despite a late scare when Grix could have won it, the Black & Whites dug deep to start 2017 with a precious win in difficult circumstances.

Team news

Lee Radford named a strong squad following the reserves' victory outing at Doncaster last week.

Gareth Ellis made his first appearance since September's Super 8s clash with Warrington Wolves.

Josh Bowden and Dean Hadley were ruled out through injuries, but there were league debuts for off-season signings Josh Griffin, Albert Kelly and Connor.

The match

The weather played a major role in the first half's proceedings as penalties were aplenty.

An ill-disciplined Wakefield gifted three penalties to master kicker Sneyd, giving the visitors a 6-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The game saw another penalty goal after 23 minutes, though this time it was Williams making no mistake from the hosts.

Ben Jones-Bishop went over in the far right corner when he received the ball in acres of space but a knock-on in the build-up saw the first try of the game chalked off.

Trinity's recruitment has earned them high billing for the season ahead and new signing Grix got the first try of the afternoon at the start of the second half. Williams added the extras to give the hosts the lead for the first time in the match.

Kelly thought he had got the Black and Whites back in front when he went over the whitewash but referee Chris Campbell had spotted a knock-on in the lead up and ruled it out.

But with just over ten minutes remaining, interchange Connor profited from Sneyd's kick on the last and bundled his way over. Sneyd added the extras to give the visitors a four-point advantage.

Wakefield broke desperately when a loose ball fell to Grix in the danger zone but Fetuli Talanoa defended bravely to scramble the ball away with thirty seconds on the clock.

This article originally appeared at hullfc.com.