Leeds thrash Hull FC to dent hosts' play-off hopes

Betfred Super League

Hull FC (0) 0

Leeds (24) 34

Tries: Hall, Watkins, Connor, Gannon, Croft, McDonnell Goals: Connor 5

Leeds Rhinos stormed their way to a 34-0 thrashing of Hull FC to put a dent in their opponents' Super League play-off hopes.

Ryan Hall touched down for Leeds on his 400th Super League appearance to send the visitors ahead and they edged further in front soon after when Kallum Watkins dotted down.

Jake Connor and Morgan Gannon got on the scoresheet as Leeds led 24-0 at half-time and Brodie Croft picked up where they left off after the break.

James McDonnell crashed in for Leeds' sixth try late on to cap off a momentous performance and an 80 minutes to forget for the hosts.

The result lifts Leeds to third in Super League and level on points with second-placed Wigan, while Hull FC drop to seventh following Wakefield's thumping win against Huddersfield later on Saturday.

Hall finally broke the deadlock after an attritional opening 22 minutes when he was played through as Leeds found space on the wing - but they were not done there.

Watkins' score came off the back of a high kick in-goal from Croft, which was rebounded into his path, leaving him to react quickly to ground the ball.

Connor added some shine to Leeds' first-half showing thanks to his long-range run-in shortly after but there was controversy to come in the build-up to Gannon's score.

Croft played what looked to be a clear forward pass to Sam Lisone which was not spotted by referee Aaron Moore and, in the aftermath, Leeds kept the ball alive with Connor's neat kick sending Gannon through to cross over.

A tackle on Hull FC prop Liam Watts was put on report just before the half-time hooter, in the midst of being grounded by Connor and an onrushing Joe Shorrocks.

Croft's try came off the back of some fantastic work by Shorrocks to offload under pressure to Jarrod O'Connor in the lead-up to him going in under the posts.

Leeds suffered a blow as Max Simpson - who was making his first appearance since 2022 after a succession of injury setbacks following a fractured ankle - was stretchered off the field after a lengthy delay.

McDonnell showed great strength to get to the line with just under 10 minutes remaining to add some shine to Leeds' performance while Hull FC offered little over the course of the match to respond to their opponents' dominance.

Hull FC boss John Cartwright:

"It shows the quality of the opposition we were playing against. We probably had the better of the game in the first 25 minutes, and that was where the rot set in.

"We had to be near perfect today, and in the first 25 minutes we were near perfect with the ball and defended really well. It was on the back of three errors that they capitalised and it went away from us.

"They tried hard, they fought hard, but I don't think we played well with the ball. I think we can do a lot better than what we did. (Next week - against Hull KR) we've got a game that means a hell of a lot to this club and there's no lack of motivation to go there and do well."

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur:

"[On Max Simpson's injury] I'm not 100% sure but they're pretty confident that it's all precautionary at the moment.

"He seems in good spirits. It was a pretty nasty collision so you'd expect that we would take precautions with him. It's unfortunate but there's every possibility that he's fine and good to go."

"[On their performance] I thought in the first 10 or 15 minutes we were a bit flat and tired and didn't have the same energy levels that we'd been displaying, but the boys showed plenty of character and hung in there.

"We knew once we got that try we would find a bit of energy from it. That's what good teams do. You're not always going to be at your best but it's been a long season and we've been working hard."

Hull FC: Hardaker; Barron, Rapana, Litten, Martin; Cust, Sezer; Ese'ese, Bourouh, Watts, Chamberlain, Lane, Aydin.

Interchanges: Briscoe, Ashworth, Fash, Laidlaw.

Leeds: Miller; Hall, Newman, Simpson, Hankinson; Croft, Connor; Cassell, O'Connor, Oledzki, Gannon, McDonnell, Watkins.

Interchanges: Shorrocks, Bentley, Lisone, Jenkins.

Referee: Aaron Moore.