Herman Ese’ese celebrated signing a new long-term contract at Hull FC by paving the way for his side to cruise past Castleford 24-14 at The Jungle and soar up to second place in the Betfred Super League.
The 30-year-old powerhouse underscored his worth to John Cartwright’s revitalised Black and Whites as he shrugged off the attentions of three Castleford defenders to bustle over for the opening try with 10 minutes on the clock.
His muscular display set the tone for another impressive win for the visitors, building on last week’s gutsy success at Wakefield, and tees them up nicely for next week’s Challenge Cup derby against Hull KR, the only team left to separate them from the Super League summit.
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The only dampener for Cartwright’s side was a head injury sustained by Cade Cust in a high tackle by Innes Senior early in the second half, which saw Senior sin-binned and means Cust will miss the Cup quarter-final.
Castleford’s cautious revival had run aground at Catalans last week, and although Rowan Milnes quickly brought them level after a lightning-fast surge by Josh Simm down the right touchline halfway through the first period, they failed to grasp the momentum.
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Instead it was the visitors who regained the initiative just before the half-hour mark, when Tom Briscoe sprung through a gap in the Castleford defence before Jack Ashworth’s short pass sent Aidan Sezer surging over.
The hosts could have levelled after pummelling the FC line and coming close in an energetic cameo from Dan Okoro, but they were made to pay for their missed chance shortly before the break when Cust’s pass sent Briscoe somersaulting over for the visitors’ third.
Sezer’s superb kick from the touchline – his third on a night that would see him rack up a personal tally of 12 points, moved FC, backed by a sizeable contingent of travelling fans, 12 points clear at the break.
Castleford’s hopes of wresting their way back into the match were dealt a double blow within three minutes of the restart when Senior went shoulder-first on the on-rushing Cust, and moments later Lewis Martin skipped over in the corner for the visitors’ fourth.
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Amir Bourouh briefly levelled the numbers when he was yellow-carded for tipping Sam Wood, but FC remained in the ascendancy, with Sezer kicking them further clear after an offside call, all but sealing their sixth away win in all competitions this season.
In what is becoming an all-too-familiar story for Danny McGuire’s men, they rallied when all was lost, former Black and White Tex Hoy bursting over from 60 metres, and Simm adding a late second to at least give the home scoreboard a hint of respectability.
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More to follow…
Super League Round Six Fixtures (all live on Sky Sports)
Friday March 28
- 8pm: Leigh Leopards vs Wakefield Trinity
- 8pm: Warrington Wolves vs Leeds Rhinos (5,000th game)
Saturday March 29
- 5.30pm: Catalans Dragons vs St Helens
Sunday March 30
- 3pm: Huddersfield Giants vs Hull Kingston Rovers
- 3pm: Wigan Warriors vs Salford Red Devils
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
