Leeds Rhinos resist Hull FC comeback to return to Super League summit
Last Updated: 21/06/15 6:20pm
Leeds saw off a strong second-half showing from Hull FC to come away with a 32-20 win at Headingley Carnegie and move back to the top of the Super League standings.
First-half tries from Danny McGuire, Joel Moon and Jimmy Keinhirst gave the home side a 16-6 advantage before Hull staged a comeback to trail by just four points in the final five minutes.
Two penalties from Kevin Sinfield and a try from Carl Ablett in the closing minutes then sealed an important win for the hosts.
Danny McGuire opened the scoring for the hosts when the ball was spread wide and he put Ryan Hall through. Hall passed back to McGuire who crossed the whitewash to give his side a 6-0 lead following the conversion from Liam Sutcliffe.
Jordan Thompson then hit back for the visitors after a break from Mark Minichiello, which locked the scores at 6-6 going into the second quarter.
Zak Hardaker then put in a superb cross-field kick which found Hall, who popped the ball to Keinhorst.
Keinhorst then flicked to Moon to give the Rhinos the lead once more. Shortly before the half-time break, Hull failed to field a kick from McGuire leading to a try for Keinhorst.
The second half saw the sides exchange scores as Hull hit back with a try in the corner from Curtis Naughton before Leeds stretched the lead once again with a second effort from Moon. Hull hooker Danny Houghton then scored under the posts to ensure that the final quarter remained a close affair.
Neither side managed to score in the 10 minutes that followed, but with just over nine minutes remaining McGuire broke and was pulled down by Marc Sneyd, who held onto the Rhinos half-back.
The Hull player was sent to the sin bin for the offence, but McGuire joined him for retaliating. The penalty to Leeds stood and Sinfield sent it over the crossbar for a 24-16 lead.
With just four minutes remaining Hull FC scored through Fetuli Talanoa, but the kick was missed, making it a four-point game before Sinfield kicked another penalty after a short drop didn't make it 10 metres. The game was then sealed by an Ablett try.