Leeds Rhinos 12-18 Hull FC: Player ratings and major talking points

Despite the noise of the South Stand, Leeds failed to come back from an 18-8 deficit against a gusty Hull team at Headingley. It was a physical and at times controversial contest that certainly incited the crowd. But Hull’s defence saw them through to another win.

Major Talking Points:

1. Inconsistent six again

For a long time, I’ve not been a fan of the six again rule and today proved why. It seems to be an incredibly hard to interpret rule for officials meaning many decisions leave supporters bemused over why it was again. There were plenty of occasions today when I failed to see why either side were given six again whilst plenty more when I felt six again was a certainty only for it to allude the attacking team. The rule needs more clarification or scrapping.

2. Leeds’ season summed up in one game

The Rhinos have struggled so far this campaign owing to two main factors: bad luck and an inability to score points. The Rhinos persist without plenty of key players and today a few 50/50 calls went against them at big moments in the game. That said they had more than enough possession in attacking positions to win the game twice over and failed to turn the possession into points. They need to fix that and fast.

3. Marc Sneyd the difference

Sneyd was outstanding. His kicking game was smart and potent. He kicked a 40/20 in the opening set of the game after a difficult start and that summed up the game. At times Hull were pinned down in their own 20 only for Sneyd to turn the tide with the boot. Even with seconds left, a magnificent kick left Leeds with the task of going 100 metres to score an equalising score. If Hull are going to win silverware in 2021 it’ll be down to him.

Player Ratings:

Leeds Rhinos

16 Richie Myler – 7
24 Luke Briscoe – 6
4 Konrad Hurrell – 5
2 Tom Briscoe – 6
5 Ash Handley – 6
15 Liam Sutcliffe – 6
7 Luke Gale – 6
8 Mikolaj Oledzki – 8
9 Kruise Leeming – 6
10 Matt Prior – 7
11 Alex Mellor – 6
12 Rhyse Martin – 5
13 Zane Tetevano – 6
Substitutes
14 Brad Dwyer – 7
19 King Vuniyayawa – 6
25 James Donaldson – 6
31 Morgan Gannon – 6

Hull FC
1 Jake Connor – 7
5 Mahe Fonua – 6
3 Carlos Tuimavave – 7
4 Josh Griffin – 8
21 Adam Swift – 8
6 Josh Reynolds – 7
7 Marc Sneyd – 9
13 Ligi Sao – 8
9 Danny Houghton – 7
10 Chris Satae – 8
11 Andre Savelio – 7
12 Manu Ma’ u – 7
16 Jordan Lane – 7
Substitutes
2 Bureta Faraimo – 6
14 Jordan Johnstone – 6
15 Joe Cator – 7
17 Brad Fash – 7