Leeds Rhinos 34 Hull FC 10

Leeds Rhinos secured back to back home wins in the Betfred Super League as they overcame Hull FC 34-10 in a dominant performance

In stark contrast to when the sides met earlier this season, a dominant display saw the Rhinos amass six tries to run riot on home soil. Rhyse Martin and Mik Oledzki added to first half tries from James McDonnell and Tom Holroyd, plus two tries from Ash Handley was enough to see Leeds take revenge for their round two defeat to the Airlie Birds.

Rohan Smith named a largely unchanged squad from the side that beat Huddersfield only five days prior. Sam Lisone rotated into the starting pack in place of Tom Holroyd, who dropped to the bench, plus Liam Tindall was back on the bench as James Bentley dropped out. Former Rhinos Liam Sutcliffe and Brad Dwyer were included in Tony Smith’s Hull squad, having been part of the side that beat the Rhinos in round two.

A scrappy start to the first half saw both sides try and navigate the wet conditions. The best opportunity came well into the first period when Rhyse Martin looked to have latched onto a kick in goal, but the officials called that the Leeds man hadn’t grounded the ball and gave Hull a 20 metre tap.

Despite losing Aidan Sezer to a suspected HIA, finally the home side gave their supporters something to cheer about. Off the back of an offside penalty against Hull FC, the Rhinos pushed down the right edge and managed to sneak an offload away for James McDonnell to get his third try in as many matches.

Hull called upon their substitutes Jack Brown and Chris Satae, with the latter looking dangerous every time he touched the ball. Leeds weren’t knocked out of their stride though and added to their lead with Ash Handley. Catching Hull short on numbers on the edge, Nene Macdonald was allowed room to roam and as the PNG international kicks back inside, Handley chased up in support to make the score 12-0 with under ten minutes to go.

Fresh from his recent call up into Shaun Wane’s England squad 24 hours earlier, Tom Holroyd also got in on the try scoring. The prop was posted through a huge hole by Austin and still with the full back to beat, the prop used the conditions to his advantage to slide his way over, despite Litten’s best efforts. Martin’s third conversion of the game made the score 18-0 with time running out in the half.

Thankfully for Leeds, Sezer was reintroduced back into the action and Leeds continued to fire. Austin dabbed a kick in behind to force a dropout and another great kick from Sezer looked to put Martin in for a certain score but he agonisingly couldn’t reel in the ball in time to ground it under pressure from the chasing Hull defenders.

Coming out for the second half with their 18-0 lead, the Rhinos were without Sezer, meaning that Liam Tindall was brought back into the action, Ash Handley was moved into full back, and Myler rotated into the halves.

Unfazed by the change of personnel, Rohan Smith’s side kept their tempo up as man of the match Handley extended the lead further. Hull found themselves under the pump again, thanks to Austin’s kick ricocheting off the wet hands of Litten and going to ground. From a further offside penalty, Smith and Myler shifted the ball across the Leeds line, before Myler held the ball long enough to then put Handley through a huge hole to score his second of the game and take the scoreboard to 24-0.

Darnell McIntosh got a response for the away side as the winger slid in the corner to give the Hull contingent something to cheer about. Nevertheless, constant penalties from the black and whites kept gifting Leeds the ball, and they made full use of it. Moving close to the try line with the reintroduction of Lisone, Corey Johnson spotted a gap in Hull’s defensive line and passed short for Mik Oledzki to power over for his first of the season.

Now out of sight, even though the Rhinos conceded another consolation through Litten, Martin’s score on 71 minutes was enough to finish it; the centre powering over from close range following Tindall’s drive for the line. Back to back home wins puts the Rhinos in sixth spot in the league standings, ahead of a huge clash against Leigh Leopards at Leigh Sports Village before the international break.