Leeds Rhinos' Rohan Smith reserves praise for Ash Handley after stunning five-try haul

Rohan Smith believes his Leeds Rhinos side show what they're capable of producing after their stunning victory over Hull FC. A 62-16 victory saw the Rhinos keep their play-off hopes alive while demonstrating the calibre of performance that can be achieved.

It was the team's biggest win of the season both in scoreline and importance. The Rhinos are now just three points adrift of the play-offs and seven points clear of relegation. Huge games await, none more so than next Saturday's game with Castleford Tigers at Magic Weekend, but Smith believes both the result and performance will have given hope of what's to come.

"We've been working hard on lots of aspects of our game and that's probably been the first all-around game where we've largely controlled throughout," he said. "I thought we showed some of what we can do, for sure.

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“It was an important game for us to play well in and I really liked how we started. I was particularly happy with how we regrouped after a few things went their way, which probably wasn’t reflective of the flow of the game. In the end we strung a few plays together and the scoreboard looks nice.

“I was very confident at half time. Our process was strong and we were playing well."

Smith reserved special praise for Ash Handley, who equalled Danny McGuire's Rhinos record for tries in a Super League game after bagging five in the big win.

“He’s a top-end finisher and it’s underestimated how hard he carries the ball in yardage. He’s a great team guy, so it’s nice to see a winger get the rewards in the form of scoring tries."

Smith laughed off the motion that the Rhinos should wear their pink strip more. The