Kai O’Donnell scored four tries as Leigh Leopards ran out 42-12 winners over Hull FC in baking hot conditions at Leigh Sports Village.
The injury-hit Black & Whites made a fist of it in the first-half, fighting back from 12-0 down to level the scores before half-time thanks to tries from young pair Logan Moy and Lewis Martin.
But an ill-disciplined showing from the Black & Whites after the break, both with and without the ball, saw them leak 30 second-half points as O’Donnell took his try tally on the afternoon to four.
Team News
There were as many as five changes to the Hull FC team from the side that took on St Helens last weekend, with Jed Cartwright and Sam Eseh Jr coming in to make their club debuts.
Herman Ese’ese returned from a short-term injury, whilst youngsters Jack Charles and Zach Jebson made up the five coming in.
Jake Trueman (calf), Matty Laidaw (head), Ed Chamberlain (head), Jordan Lane (suspension) and Brad Fash (suspension) were all unavailable for the visitors.
The Match
It remained scoreless after fifteen minutes, but Will Gardiner was sent to the sin bin for slowing the play-the-ball down after consecutive offences from Hull.
And in the following set, the Leopards opened the scoring. A ball went to ground, but referee Jack Smith adjudged that it had gone backwards, so when Kai O’Donnell took possession from ten metres out, he was able to gallop through a gaping hole in the defensive line to score.
O’Donnell was at the centre of the action again when Leigh threatened to score their second try of the first-half. He escaped the clutches of two Hull defenders and found a pass to Tom Amone, whose drive for the line saw him held up by Herman Ese’ese and Leon Ruan as the Black & Whites hung on for dear life.
But the pressure continued to grow on the visitors after Leigh earned themselves a goal-line drop-out. A couple of examinations of Hull’s right-side defence bore no fruit for the hosts, but when they shifted to the opposite side of the field, Lachlan Lam selected the correct pass, giving Halton a walk-in from ten metres out.
Chances came few and far between for Hull, but they executed one to some tune with five minutes remaining until half-time. Carlos Tuimavave was able to pick up Denive Balmforth’s offload – the centre drew in Leigh’s back three and sent young gun Moy racing in underneath the posts.
That try had Hull’s tails up on the approach to half-time, and Simon Grix’s side became more interested when former Black & Whites winger Darnell McIntosh was sent to the sin-bin for a dangerous tip-tackle on Lewis Martin.
Two more penalties invited FC into the Leopards’ territory. Jack Walker fired a cutout pass to Harvey Barron, who was able to outmuscle his more experienced opposite number, Josh Charnley, to wrestle the ball to the ground.
Half-Time: Leigh Leopards 12-12 Hull FC
All of Hull’s hard at the end of the first-half was quickly undone after the break. Moy spilled possession after taking a last-tackle high kick, and early in the set that followed, Lam slipped a kick through which O’Donnell raced after to ground as the back-rower registered his second try of the afternoon.
The Black & Whites were back to square one just ten minutes into the second-half when quick hands from the Leopards saw the fullback latch onto a pass out of the back from Jack Hughes and straighten up the angle to score under the posts.
For the second time in the game, Leigh were temporarily reduced to twelve players as Owen Trout was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Yusuf Aydin, which forced the Turkish international off the field for a head injury assessment.
Leigh looked to have sealed their victory with just under twenty minutes to go, despite still being without Trout. Lam claimed another assist – he saw the defenders rushing up in his peripheral vision, so floated a pass over the top for McIntosh to stroll in against his former club.
Lam claimed yet another assist, albeit via a deflection, as his grubber kick allowed O’Donnell to dot down for his hat-trick try. As Leigh hit the 30-point mark, Hull’s race appeared to be run once more.
The Australian back-rower was having an afternoon of it as he pumped the legs with power to crash over for his fourth try of the afternoon, making it a second-half hat-trick.
A miserable second-half for Hull wasn’t over before Leigh were able to score another try, with Hardaker ghosting past Walker.
Full-Time: Leigh Leopards 42-12 Hull FC
The Squads
Hull FC: Logan Moy, Harvey Barron, Carlos Tuimavave, Tom Briscoe, Lewis Martin, Jack Walker, Jack Charles, Herman Ese’ese, Morgan Smith, Yusuf Aydin, Jed Cartwright, Leon Ruan, Will Gardiner
Interchanges: Zach Jebson, Denive Balmforth, Tiaki Chan, Sam Eseh Jr
18th Man: Will Kirby
Leigh Leopards: Zak Hardaker, Darnell McIntosh, Umyla Hanley, Ricky Leutele, Josh Charnley, Jack Hughes, Lachaln Lam, Tom Amone, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Kai O’Donnell, Frankie Halton, John Asiata
Interchanges: Matt Davis, Owen Trout, Brad Dwyer, Aaron Pene
18th Man: Bailey Hodgson
The Scorers
Hull FC Tries: Moy, Barron
Hull FC Conversions: Charles (2/2)
Leigh Leopards Tries: O’Donnell (4), Halton, Hardaker (2), McIntosh
Leigh Leopards Conversions: McIntosh (3/4), Hardaker (2/3)
STORY SPONSOR
