Airlie Birds tame Tigers

Craig Hall scored a hat-trick of tries as Hull beat Castleford 40-14 to give Richard Agar his first win in the Super League.

Danny Washbrook had already looked dangerous with a promising half-break, before superb reverse passes from Kirk Yeaman and Willie Manu sent 17-year-old Tom Briscoe racing in for his first senior try. Danny Tickle added the extras.

Tickle and former Hull player Kirk Dixon then traded penalties, as the Tigers lost hooker Scott Moore to a leg injury.

A period of Castleford pressure ensued but they ended up grateful to Dixon for a superb last-ditch ankle tap on Washbrook after he, Yeaman and Todd Byrne had produced three scintillating breaks to take their side the length of the field after Washbrook had intercepted Brent Sherwin's kick.

Ever-involved, Washbrook pierced the Castleford defence again a minute later only for the move to break down, and his side found themselves level shortly after as Craig Huby went over for Castleford.

After Sherwin's neat sliderule kick had split the Hull defence, Washbrook appeared to have held up the move and gained revenge on Dixon by pinning him down close to the line, only for the centre to slip the ball out for the supporting Huby to crash over.

Hull were soon back in front however, with Byrne and Matt Sing combining to lay on a try for substitute Hall, before Yeaman grabbed himself a deserved score just seconds before the interval as he plucked Adam Dykes' kick out of the air to touch down.

Despite trailing by 10 points at the break, the visitors flew out of the traps in the second half, scoring through Ned Catic's first try since his return to Super League, although Dixon's conversion was soon cancelled out by another Tickle penalty.

Hall's second try - on the back of a smart grubber kick from Dykes - soon extinguished any hopes of a Castleford comeback, while Tickle added another penalty to underline Hull's control over the contest.

Garreth Carvell was then sent to the sin-bin for Hull after blocking off Sherwin, but Castleford were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage and slipped even further adrift when Hall secured his hat-trick off another clever ball from Dykes.

The floodgates were now open despite Hull's handicap and Yeaman grabbed himself a second, picking off Sherwin's pass to race 40 metres to the line.