Frustrated Leeds boss Rohan Smith admits his players were saddened at losing on a day when they hoped to honour Rob Burrow.
Rhinos aimed to put on a show in their first game since the death of their legendary former player from motor neurone disease. But they spluttered horribly with their worst display of the season, falling against a Hull FC side on an 11-game losing streak. Under-pressure Smith, whose own position is now facing intense scrutiny after another abject defeat, admitted: “They’re frustrated, disappointed, sad…. all those negative emotions.
“It’s a common place when you know you haven’t performed. We started really strongly but overall we lacked care with the ball and needed to be more clinical.”
Asked if some of his players may have been affected by the emotions following Burrow’s death, Smith replied: “Emotions are a difficult thing: you can’t measure where people are individually. Some people didn’t know Rob, but admired him for what he did on and off the field and his battles.
“Others were very close to him, and for all those that have lost people they’re close to, there is an emotional cost to that. “Sometimes you really benefit from that but we won’t ever know what impact it has. It’s been tough for them; they treasured their time with him and I’m sure they wish they could have got a win for him today. “We have the opportunity to re-set and look forward to next week which will be a special occasion and a good opportunity to fight back.”
But Leeds were a mess. Mistake after mistake, no cohesion and little attacking quality, they looked like a side who’d just met up on the M62 on the way in. Hull were joint-bottom, had only won once in Super League all season and had picked up a dozen defeats. They remain the only side to fall to basement dwellers London.
But they didn’t even have to be half-decent to blast past dismal Rhinos in torrential rain. Both sides made a catalogue of errors in a shambolic first half. Hull, though, emerged with a 12-0 lead and never looked back.
Jake Trueman smuggled a long pass out for teenage winger Lewis Martin to dive over on 36 minutes. And with the final play of the half, young hooker Denive Balmforth exposed awful goalline defence to get in for their second. Ben Reynolds converted both and, when Leeds centre Paul Momirovski was penalised for swearing, Hull were in again on 45 minutes.
Carlos Tuimavave, returning from a three-month lay-off, slipped Ash Handley and got Cam Scott over. The visitors did at least get off the mark when Handley pounced on Brodie Croft’s grubber in the 55th minute. When Tom Briscoe was sin-binned for a professional foul in the 71st minute, Harry Newman also got over, Rhyse Martin goalling.
But it was too little too late. Interim Hull head coach Simon Grix finally got his first victory and said: “The main feeling is relief. The losses haven’t been through a lack of trying but to get a win is pleasing. It’s really big for the boys.
"Two wins from 14 rounds, we’ve a long way to go to be the team we’d like to be but those little steps will get us closer. The rest of the season is about one week at a time. There’s a lot of change going on and the challenge has been laid down ‘There’s a brighter future coming. Do you want to be a part of it?"