Leigh-Hull conclusions: Leopards flaw exposed, Hull’s transfer priority…

Hull FC delivered a wonderful away performance to stifle Leigh Leopards and win 26-12 in the opening game of Round 12 in Super League.

The Black and Whites led 26-0 by half-time thanks to a near-faultless opening 40 minutes. The Leopards, in contrast, were woeful: and two late tries were nothing but consolation.

Here are our big takeaways from the evening – with plenty of positives for Hull: and lots of things to dwell on for the Leopards.

Leigh’s depth exposed

It’s been a pretty good season so far for Adrian Lam’s side but you always wondered if the increasing problems in their spine depth was going to be an issue at some stage.

That was emphatically proven here. Without David Armstrong and Gareth O’Brien, Leigh lacked both punch and leadership – with Lachlan Lam having another off night for the hosts.

The Leopards coach admitted this week he was considering looking for a new spine player, with O’Brien set to see a specialist after multiple head knocks. That search may need to be accelerated: Leigh were flat all evening in attack.

And when Edwin Ipape is this poor, you know it’s not going to be your night.

The Leopards beaten at their own game

Adrian Lam joked this week that Hull have essentially become a carbon copy of the Leopards style-wise given the number of former Leigh players they have in their ranks.

Well, they were emphatically beaten at their own game here on their own turf. Leigh’s strong outside backs and rotational forwards set the tone for what they do well and here, it was John Cartwright’s men who executed that plan perfectly.

Herman Ese’ese led from the front, Sam Eseh continued off the bench – and the likes of Tom Briscoe and Lewis Martin put in huge shifts to give the pack a well-earned breather at crucial moments.

That was matched by a magnificent effort defensively from the Black and Whites, too. It was a Cartwright masterpiece.

Will Pryce arrives

Understandably, it’s taken Will Pryce a few weeks to get back into the swing of things as a Super League player. That’s fair enough, given how he’s struggled for game-time in the NRL and is integrating himself into a new system.

But this was a statement night from the Black and Whites’ fullback.

Hull’s recruitment priority is obvious

Well, one of them anyway: prop Liam Knight.

There were a number of impressive displays from Hull forwards here. Ese’ese was, well, Ese’ese. Eseh also provided a great lift from the bench and Zak Hardaker’s energy and endeavour while playing out of position is worth a note, too.

But in a world where more and more clubs are looking for impact forwards to change games, there is still a place for props like Knight, who can do huge unbroken stints to give the others valuable breathers.

He played the first hour without a single break and then came back for a total of 72 minutes: an astonishing effort in the modern game. He was the game’s top tackler by some distance too: with 43 completed from 45 attempts.

No wonder Hull want to keep him.