The Challenge Cup holders took on the incumbent Super League Champions as Hull FC travelled to a new look Headingley Stadium to take on Leeds, looking for their first Super League away victory over the Rhinos in over ten years.
Neither team had a fully fit squad to choose from with the Rhinos still nursing a long injury list, but with six players returning to the side who lost in Widnes a fortnight ago. The Airlie Birds were without Faraimo (concussion), Watts (suspended), Kelly and Houghton (both injured) while giving a Super League debut to Jordan Lane.
It was a reduced capacity crowd at a sold out Headingley, the new South Stand taking shape but only partially open, and with a temporary stand on the north side of the stadium.
It was a terrific start for the Rhinos when Kallum Watkins rose to catch a high kick from Richie Myler to push his tackler out of the way and drop over the line. The Rhinos centre slipped on taking the kick but it still sailed between the posts for 6-0 after five minutes.
On fourteen the Rhinos grabbed their second of the game when Tom Briscoe took a perfectly timed miss-out pass from Myler to dive over by the right corner flag. Watkins kept his feet but couldn’t add the conversion from the touchline. Briscoe had a second try turned down three minutes later by the video referee for foot in touch.
On twenty-three Jack Logan had a try denied by the video referee after he was adjudged to be marginally offside when a kick was put through by Jake Connor. They were still ten points behind but edging back into the game.
On twenty-eight Dean Hadley won the race to collect a Marc Sneyd grubber kick under the sticks and ground, despite the attentions of Watkins. Sneyd added the conversion reduce the arrears to four points.
FC finished the half the brightest and with thirty seconds remaining Josh Griffin looked to have levelled the scores but his try was again ruled out by the video referee for an obstruction in the build up, and the Rhinos took a 10-6 lead into the interval.
Two minutes into the second half and it was the Rhinos turn to have a try turned down by the video referee, this time Jamie Jones-Buchanan had completed a fantastic Leeds move but Myler was determined to have been offside in the build-up. The video referee was earning his pay packet.
After the Rhino were awarded a dubious penalty on the FC line the Rhinos took full advantage when Watkins bust the line off a Myler pass to walk in for his second of the night on fifty-six but he failed to add the conversion, hitting the upright.
Two minutes later and Tom Briscoe got his brace when he was at the end of a left to right passing move to take a Watkins pass and go in on the overlap, his fiftieth try for the Rhinos. Watkins added the conversion from the touchline for 20-6, the Airlie Birds needed three tries.
On sixty-one Jordan Abdull forced his way over the line to ground under a pile of Leeds tacklers. Sneyd added the conversion to narrow the margin to eight points. On sixty-eight Fetuli Talano used his strength to fend off the Leeds tacklers and ground one-handed in the left corner. Sneyd failed to add the extras but the margin was down to just four points.
But the Rhinos held on, under bombardment from the Hull attackers, and took the 20-16 win.
Hull will count themselves as unfortunate to have not broken their Headingley hoodoo after dominating the game for long periods and looking more confident and enterprising in attack than the Rhinos. Leeds defence was excellent but they had to rely on the benevolence of the video referee in picking up the points. There was just four points between the two sides at the final hooter and it was the Rhinos who took the crucial two points to lift them into the top four.
Rhinos: Golding, Briscoe (2T), Watkins (2T, 2G), Handley, Hall, Moon, Myler, Garbutt, Parcell, Singleton, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Delaney. Subs: Mullally, Ormondroyd, Walker, Walters.
FC: Shaul, Logan, Tuimavave, Griffin , Talanoa (T), Connor, Sneyd (2G), Taylor, Matongo, Washbrook, Minichiello, Manu, Hadley (T). Subs: Abdull (T), Fash, Green, Lane.
Referee: Robert Hicks.
Half-Time: 10-6.
Full-Time: 20-16.
Attendance: .
