Leeds Rhinos  v Hull FC: Five takeaways as hosts ‘rectify lost cause’ in ‘slobber-knocker’

Following Leeds Rhinos’ dramatic 18-16 win over Hull FC in round 11 of Super League, here are our five key takeaways from a thriller at Headingley.

The top line

Despite losing star man Jordan Rapana early doors, Hull FC were in full control of the first-half.

Defensive steel, all-round composure and then precise and accurate attacking play, led by the experienced duo of Aidan Sezer and John Asiata, pushed the Airlie Birds out to a 10-0 lead.

Lewis Martin was the first player on the scoresheet, as he finished off a textbook scrum play in the corner, and his effort was followed up by Sam Eseh, who powered over from short range.

But, a costly error from Jack Ashworth mere moments after Eseh’s try instantaneously gave Leeds a lifeline back into the contest, as James McDonnell cut a gorgeous line off a Brodie Croft delayed pass to cross as the hooter sounded.

It seemed this would be the thing to spark Leeds back to life, but it proved only a momentary setback for Hull as they added their third try of the evening just four minutes into the second-half.

After a Will Pryce kick fell gleefully into the palms of Zak Hardaker, rather fortuitously, may we add, after it hit the post, quick hands got the ball out wide to Harvey Barron, and he made no mistake with the finish.

You felt Leeds needed to hit back quickly if they stood any chance of coming back into it, and they got exactly that.

After a solid attacking set, a ramped-up Tom Holroyd – fresh from penning a new contract extension with the club – barrelled through the FC defence to score.

This try lit the touchpaper under the Rhino’s belly, and they eventually pulled back to within two as Riley Lumb dotted down in the corner after a superb strike play through the left edge.

It felt it would take a moment of magic to settle the game, step forward, Ryan Hall.

With their final throw of the dice, tackle five in the 78^th minute, the Rhinos got the ball out to the experienced winger, and as you would expect from Hall, he crossed the whitewash to hand the Rhinos a famous win.

Freak injury

Early in the first-half, Jordan Rapana picked up a nasty head injury.

The incident itself was a bit freakish, with the full-back just colliding with Jake Connor as he attempted to make a big tackle, and unfortunately, he came out of it with a really serious knock.

We must add too that it was superb management all round, from a medical point of view and a refereeing one too, with every precaution taken to make sure he was ok.

Hopefully, it’s not as bad as it first appears, because he’s been a breath of fresh air for the Airlie Birds since arriving.

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Never give up

When Barron crossed at the start of the second-half, the game seemed as good as over.

This time last year, it probably would have been for the Rhinos, but this is a different Rhinos. This is Arthur’s Rhinos.

Leeds have made a very visible turnaround under the Australian since last year, but that’s never been on display as much as tonight as they rectified a lost cause.

They didn’t let the Hull FC pressure get to them at all; if anything, it brought the best out of them.

The backline unit of Croft, Miller, Man of the Match Jake Connor and Ash Handley consistently came up with huge attacking efforts just when it mattered at the end. Around that, Kallum Watkins added some real zip to their play, and again, his experience probably helped them close out those tough moments.

That’s what’s most telling here, though, they managed to capitalise on their chances when it counted, which is something the Rhinos have really lacked in recent times.

In times gone by, Leeds have shrank away from moments like this is Arthur’s Leeds. They didn’t stand down, they fought right to the end and got the reward off the back of it.

It was far from a perfect performance for much of the game, and Hull FC were very, very, very good for 77 minutes tonight, but Leeds just never gave up, and that should count for something.

Steel

This game was a proper slobber-knocker from start to finish, as both teams threw everything at each other.

Each tackle had that extra bit of venom, almost as if it were a Hull derby or Leeds v Bradford back in the day, each carry had that extra bit of leg drive behind it.

It wasn’t just individuals leading the charge either, it seemed everyone was getting involved in the biff. On more than one occasion, a rugby union maul formed as one team went to drag the other one back behind the line or deny them a sliver of momentum.

Around this, too, it just felt the teams went tit-for-tat in the second-half; anything you can do, I can do better vibes. Be it through a huge defensive effort, a line-break or a strike play out for a score, the teams were both replicating each other to utter perfection.

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This was a proper game, and one both sides will take plenty out of.

Combinations

While there was a lot to like about the performances of both teams, two pivotal spine combinations proved the key for both sides.

For Leeds, Croft, Jake Connor and Lachie Miller were all utterly majestic ball-in-hand. Everything good came through them.

Miller was a consistent threat ball-in-hand, particularly on the counterattack, with his elusive running causing chaos in broken field. Croft, who marked his return from a lengthy injury layoff tonight, chipped in with some trademark touches, but it was his playmaking skills that unlocked the defence.

His delayed pass to send McDonnell over in the first-half was arguably the pick of the bunch, but that wasn’t the only example. Every time the ball came out to him, you just felt something could happen.

Jake Connor, slotting into the halves now, also again proved exactly why Arthur drafted him into the side this off-season. Across the game, his clever game-reading consistently got Leeds into great spots, but that came to the fore right at the end as he played a key role in Hall’s deciding try.

On the other side of the pitch, Asiata and Sezer steered the ship wonderfully well and deserve some flowers for it.

Rather than consistently looking for work, they both bided their time and waited for the perfect moment to inject themselves into the play. The scrum play to send Lewis Martin over proved that point exactly.

On top of this, the experienced pair really stepped up to the plate from a leadership point of view, too. Whenever pressure flipped in the match, which it did on multiple occasions, they just came up with a crucial play to calm everything down and get Hull back on the front-foot.

If Hull FC had held onto the win, you’d think one of them would have been named Man of the Match.

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