An unbeaten Salford Red Devils, with one eye on the top of the table, travelled to the MKM Stadium to take on a Hull FC side with one win in their opening two games and who had aspiration on finishing the weekend in the top half of the table.
Jake Connor was back in the black and white after serving a one match ban, and Deon Cross was on the bench for the Red Devils with Dan Sarginson starting in the centres. FC were slight favourites with the bookies, but the Red Devils had only received a four-point start on the coupon.
Darnell McIntosh went closest to opening the scoring on twelve but as he dived for the corner he was pushed into touch. But two minutes later the FC centre was over after a dummy and kick to the corner from Jake Connor created the space for him to collect and then he managed to force out an arm to ground despite the attention of Ryan Brierley. Connor was unable to convert.
Jake Connor was instrumental again on sixteen when he put in a delayed pass to Cameron Scott to go over in the corner on the overlap. This time Connor put his conversion kick between the uprights for 10-0.
Cameron Scott scored a sensational second try with several offloads finding their way to Scott who chipped over the top and collected his own kick to score. Jake Connor had been whacked in back play but recovered to take on the kicking duties but couldn´t add the extras.
It was all too easy for the Airlie Birds on twenty-eight when Joe Lovadua pushed to the line and stretched over to score, once again taking the last ball from Connor the home full back who was bossing the game. Connor added the goal for 20-0.
The Red Devils finally registered their first points on thirty-three through Tim Lafai after Adam Swift failed to take a high swirling kick from Marc Sneyd. Sneyd added the conversion or 6-20 at the interval, a glimmer of a lifeline for the visitors.
The home crowd were delighted on forty-five after Sneyd was yellow carded by referee Hicks after late hit on Connor.
Two minutes after the sin-binning Connor went in for the fifty FC try of the afternoon when Hull went down the short side on the back of two successive penalties. McIntosh took the kick but couldn´t find the target.
Brierley was again unable to take a Connor kick and spilled the ball into goal where it was grounded by Jordan Lane as the FC dominance continued. McIntosh added the goal for 30-6.
Hull made the numbers count on fifty-three when Lane went in for his second of the afternoon and the McIntosh goal extended the lead to 36-6, FC edging into the top half of the table.
Josh Reynolds scored a superb try on sixty-four when he collected a kick through that Brierley was unable to deal with after it took an awful bounce, to go in. McIntosh added the conversion, it was a rout at 42-6.
A Ken Sio and Brodie Croft one-two off the back of a Sneyd kick gave Salford their second try as the free scoring Sio went in. Sneyd was unable to convert from the touchline.
It was 46-10 when Chris Satae hot the ball at speed to take a Connor pass and crash the line. McIntosh added the conversion from wide, FC two short of the half century.
Lafai got a second try of the afternoon, but it counted for little as the Sneyd conversion made it 48-16.
Salford´s excellent start to the season came crashing down as Hull FC found some form in running in a big score. Few would have predicted the dominance as the Airlie Birds were able to punish the visitors’ mistakes and seal the win in the ten minutes that FC old boy Sneyd was languishing in the sin-bin. Salford will be wondering how the form from their opening two games deserted them while FC have given themselves am excellent platform to build on in the coming weeks.
Hull FC: Connor (T, 2G), Swift, Scott (2T), Griffin, McIntosh (T, 4G), Reynolds (T), McNamara, Sao, Houghton, Satae (T), Lovadua (T), Lane (2T), Fash. Subs: Bowden, Brown, Johnstone, Shaul.
Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Sio (T), Sarginson, Lafai (2T), Burgess, Croft, Sneyd (G, SB on 45), Vuniyayawa, Ackers, Burke, Wright, Lannon, Taylor. Subs: Cross, Akauola, Addy, Gerrard.
Half-Time: 20-6.
Full-Time: 48-16.
Score Progression: 4-0, 8-0, 10-0, 14-0, 18-0, 20-0, 20-4, 20-6 : HT : (SB), 24-6, 28-6, 30-6, 34-6, 36-6, 40-6, 42-6, 42-10, 46-10, 48-10, 48-14, 48-16 : FT .
Referee: Rob Hicks.