The exclusive club Hull FC have joined after remarkable Catalans Dragons win
John Cartwright is already doing it tough on the injury front.
Hull FC have become only the fourth club – and just the third in a Super League game – to score 24+ points against Catalans Dragons at the Stade Gilbert Brutus since the start of the 2023 campaign.
The Airlie Birds shocked pretty much everyone as they recorded a 24-4 victory in Perpignan on Friday night, getting the John Cartwright era off to a winning start and giving their travelling supporters plenty to love on Valentine’s Day.
Jordan Lane and Tom Briscoe both grabbed tries, with new recruit Cade Cust crossing the whitewash twice.
New skipper Aidan Sezer bolstered the scoreline with four successful kicks, while Catalans’ only response came via an Arthur Mourgue try early on in the second half.
After a dismal 2024 campaign which brought just three wins all year, and ended with a run of nine straight defeats, there was plenty to like about FC’s performance.
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The exclusive club Hull FC have joined after remarkable Catalans Dragons win
As touched on above, their win – and the manner of it – earns them a spot in a pretty exclusive club.
Since the start of the 2023 season, which saw them reach the Grand Final, Catalans had only shipped 24+ points on home soil on four occasions prior to Friday night.
Wigan Warriors are responsible for two of those occasions, battering the Dragons 34-0 in August 2023 and then beating them 26-18 at the Brutus almost exactly a year to the day later.
Before that drubbing, in 2023, only newly-promoted Leigh had scored 24+ points in Perpignan, and their efforts then weren’t even enough to earn a win with the Leopards beaten 38-30 in June that year.
Those three games, all against sides from the same borough, were the only occasions since the start of 2023 that a team scored 24+ points at the Brutus in Super League.
Huddersfield were the only other side to do so prior to Friday night, and the Giants’ managed that feat in a Challenge Cup Quarter-Final tie last April, winning 34-6.
So, a very small achievement for Hull – but perhaps a sign of things to come. FC’s supporters will certainly hope so, anyway!
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