Ash Handley scores five tries as Leeds demolish Hull FC to ignite playoff hopes

Ash Handley crossed for five tries as Leeds Rhinos reignited their push for the Super League playoffs with a comprehensive victory over sixth-placed Hull FC, whose own season is in danger of falling apart.

This is now four consecutive defeats for the Black and Whites and despite looking comfortable inside the top six a month ago, they could now fall out of the playoffs as early as next weekend.

The Rhinos, on the other hand, were a joy to watch here on occasions and they are now just three points shy of the playoffs courtesy of some eye-catching rugby which yielded 11 tries. Two of them came inside the first 10 minutes as Mikolaj Oledzki and Handley crossed to put the Rhinos 12-0 ahead. Hull hit back through Darnell McIntosh’s intercept, before Danny Houghton grounded to reduce Leeds’s cushion to two points.

But that was a rare moment of promise for the hosts. By half-time, Handley finished another free-flowing move and Kruise Leeming capped a long-range break to make it 22-10 at the interval. There was a brief worry after the restart when Chris Satae halved the deficit with a strong solo finish, but Leeds quickly got back into their groove.

Rohan Smith’s side were at their scintillating best thereafter to remove any doubt over the outcome. They scored six unanswered tries in a blistering 20-minute period, which began with Leeming’s second as he walked through a huge gap in the Hull defence from dummy-half. Richie Myler then added his name to the scoresheet as he finished another impressive Leeds move.

Hull had no answer for the Rhinos in the final half-hour. Liam Sutcliffe was next to cross courtesy of a wonderful pass from the outstanding Myler, before Blake Austin’s kick led to David Fusitu’a touching down. The final