Tom Briscoe nears 200th as Hull FC name 15-man-hit Leopards Vs Hull Fc side
Hull FC reached leopards vs hull fc at Leigh Sports Village on Friday night missing 15 players through injury and suspensions, but Tom Briscoe was still set to bring up his 200th game for the club. The short-handed squad also offered a chance for academy pair Ben Johnson and Lennon Clark to feature in the Super League clash.
Briscoe’s 200th at Leigh Sports Village
Briscoe was named to reach the 200-game mark in the same fixture where Hull FC had to patch together a side. Logan Moy, Harvey Barron, Lloyd Kemp, Johnson, Briscoe, Callum Kemp, Jake Arthur, Jeremiah Mata’utia, Cade Cust, Harvie Hill, Joe Batchelor, Ethan O’Neill and Zak Hardaker formed the starting XIII, with Hugo Salabio, Will Hutchinson, Will Kirby and Clark on the bench.
The milestone gave Hull FC one fixed point in an otherwise unstable week. With 15 players unavailable, the club leaned on academy cover and experience in the same lineup, and Johnson was among the names in the starting side as the team tried to stay competitive on the road.
Leigh’s XIII and Hull’s shortage
Leigh Leopards named David Armstrong, AJ Towse, Innes Senior, Umyla Hanley, Josh Charnley, Adam Cook, Lachlan Lam, Joe Ofahengaue, Edwin Ipape, Jack Hughes, Frankie Halton, Jacob Alick-Wiencke and Isaac Liu in their starting XIII. Hull FC’s task was made tougher by the sheer number of absentees, leaving them to travel to Leigh Sports Village with little margin for error.
That shortage had already shaped the build-up. Earlier in the week, Tony Sutton explained why Hull FC would not be going to Las Vegas and set out the club’s stance on future events, while Harvey Barron said: “I just want to get back playing consistently and playing to a good standard. I thought the back end of last year was probably some of the best rugby I've been playing. I'm just hoping to get back to that standard and help contribute to the team.”
Johnson and Clark get their chance
Ben Johnson and Lennon Clark were in line for debuts, and the club had framed that possibility as a lift for the group. “Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm. If they get the opportunity to make their debut, it'll be a special occasion for them,” the Hull FC coach said earlier in the week. He also said: “And if we give them that opportunity of making their debut, it galvanises the group as well because you get a little bit extra from some of those senior blokes, as it's a milestone game for those two young lads.”
For Hull FC, that was the immediate shape of the night: a veteran reaching 200 appearances, two academy players waiting for first-team debuts, and a squad stretched by 15 absentees. The Leigh trip asked the club to produce a performance from a depleted group, with Briscoe’s milestone and the youngsters’ possible first steps carrying the rest of the story.
