Hull FC

Leigh Leopards vs Hull FC Player Ratings as 1 player scores 10/10 in hammering

by
Sam Cook
August 11, 2024

Leigh Leopards got back to winning ways as they beat Hull FC at the Leigh Sports Village with the Black and Whites picking up even more suspension worries ahead of their huge Magic Weekend clash with London Broncos.

Leigh knew that a win would keep their slim hopes of making the top six alive whereas Hull FC were seeking their first away win of the season but with an incredibly depleted squad.

Simon Grix was without a dozen players through either injury or suspension whilst Leigh saw star player Matt Moylan drop out after his rib injury against Wigan Warriors on Tuesday night.

Leigh Leopards hammer Hull FC

Credit: Imago Images

Leigh Leopards were the stronger side early on and they began to build pressure easily. Hull FC made that job easier due to persistent penalties which led to Jack Smith sin-binning Will Gardiner for repeat offending. On the result set of six Kai O’Donnell made use of broken play to crash over and open the scoring.

Ten minutes later, it looked like Tom Amone had crashed over but the ball was deemed short by both the referee and video referee with Hull FC holding out under a barrage of pressure. That didn’t last long though with Frankie Halton hitting a perfect line on the half-hour mark to cross over untouched and double the lead.

Denive Balmforth came on and injected pace and his break from dummy half was supported by Carlos Tuimavave who was able to set up Logan Moy for a walk in under the posts. That swung the momentum with Hull on the front foot and they won a penalty deep in Leigh territory after Darnell McInoths was sent to the sin bin for a tip tackle.

The following set saw Harvey Barron outmuscle Josh Charnely to cross over in the corner and a brilliant Jack Charles conversion meant the sides went into the half level at 12-12.

Leigh kicked the second half off quickest despite being a man down. Kai O’Donnell latched onto a Lachlan Lam kick to score his second of the game. Minutes later O’Donnell was involved again as he offloaded for Zak Hardaker to crash over and make it 22-12.

Hull FC were given a chance when Leigh went down to 12 again with Owen Trout sin-binned for making head contact with Yusuf Aydin, however, constant errors for the Black and Whites gave Leigh consecutive sets to march down the field and score through Darnell McIntosh. Shortly after Kai O’Donnell completed his hat trick to cement his Man of the Match medal, before adding a fourth in the exact same fashion.

Leigh would pass the 40-point mark late on when a Darnell McIntosh break was finished off with a calm Zak Hardaker finish under the sticks to make it 42-12 and another bruising day out for Hull FC.

Man of the Match

Credit: Imago Images

Kai O’Donnell was by far the best player on the park and today’s performance was evidence of how much Leigh Leopards will miss him when he makes the move to North Queensland Cowboys for the 2025 season. The forward scored four and made another but served as a constant threat all game whilst doing his defensive duties admirably as well.

Leigh Leopards vs Hull FC Player Ratings

Leigh Leopards: Zak Hardaker 7, Darnell McIntosh 8, Umyla Hanley 7, Ricky Leutele 7, Josh Charnley 6, Jack Hughes 6, Lachlan Lam 8, Tom Amone 8, Edwin Ipape 8, Robbie Mulhern 7, Kai O’Donnell 10, Frankie Halton 8, John Asiata 8

Bench: Brad Dwyer 7, Matt Davis 6, Aaron Pene 7, Owen Trout 7

Hull FC: Logan Moy 7, Harvey Barron 6, Carlos Tuimavave 6, Tom Briscoe 5, Lewis Martin 5, Jack Walker 5, Jack Charles 6, Herman Ese’ese 6, Morgan Smith 5, Yusuf Aydin 5, Jed Cartwright 5, Leon Ruan 5, Will Gardiner 5

Bench: Denive Balmforth 7, Tiaki Chan 6, Sam Eseh Jr 6, Zach Jebson 6