HIGH FIVE!
Ash grabs a nap hand of tries as Rhinos run riot
Hull FC 16 62
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RED hot Ash Handley turned up the heat as Leeds Rhinos kept their Super League play-off hopes alive by ripping hapless Hull FC to pieces.
Handley ran in FIVE of Rhinos’ 11 tries, including three in the last 12 minutes for Leeds’ biggest-ever win at Hull.
The black and whites were in the game when Chris Satae’s try early in the second half cut the gap to six points, but Rhinos were unstoppable after that.
Handley was left out of England boss Shaun Wane’s squad for last month’s mid-season international, but made his point with a brilliant display after being an injury doubt before the game.
“He’s a top-end finisher,” coach Rohan Smith said.
“I think how hard he carries the ball is a bit underestimated.
“He is a great team guy and a leader. It’s nice to see a winger get a bunch of tries.
“He has played a key part behind the scenes for us, but a lot of the tries were on the back of good play on the inside.”
A third straight defeat would have ended Leeds top-six prospects and Smith said: “It was an important game for us and I really liked the way we went about the game.
“We played how we practised and I really liked how we regrouped after a few things went their way which didn’t reflect the flow of the game.
“We stuck together and at the end the scoreboard looks nice.”
Polish-born prop Mikolaj Oledzki crashed through to open the scoring for Leeds in his 100th appearance and when Handley
Leeds
went over to make it 12-0 after as many minutes Rhinos were running away with it.
But then Aidan Sezer threw a long pass which Darnell McIntosh intercepted to race the length of the field and moments later Danny Houghton touched down from Connor Wynne’s pass to get Hull right back in the game.
Handley scored his second from a sweeping move off the base of a scrum and Kruise Leeming finished off Richie Myler’s break.
Satae’s try looked to have given Hull a foothold in the contest, but they collapsed after Leeming darted over for his second try on 54 minutes.
Myler capped a superb game with the next touchdown and then the dam broke as Alex Sutcliffe and David Fusitu’a went over before Handley stole
the show, scoring the last three tries – after 68, 74 and 78 minutes.
Hull coach Brett Hodgson was baffled by his team’s shocking late collapse as they slumped to a fourth straight defeat.
He said: “We’re all hurting, I am sure the fans are and the club in general.
“I thought we were coming back strong, but
I don’t have a reason for what happened in the last 25 minutes.”
HULL FC: Tries: McIntosh,
Houghton, Satae Cons: McIntosh (1), Griffin (1)
LEEDS: Tries: Oledzki, Handley (5), Leeming (2), Myler, Sutcliffe, Fusitua Cons: Martin (9)