It has been a year to forget for Hull FC.
Head coach John Cartwright left in acrimonious circumstances in March after being told his contract would not be extended beyond this season, with the club appointing former England coach Steve McNamara to take over for 2027.
Andy Last was placed in interim charge but the season crumbled to the extent that, amid a 12-match losing run, the owners issued a statement in July to apologise to the club’s fans.
However, this win over an admittedly out-of-sorts Leeds will give players, fans and incoming coach McNamara hope for the future.
Their three tries came from young home grown players in Kemp, 19 and Moy and Clark, both 21, and they showed a grit in defence that had been lacking for all too much of this season.
Victory also saw retiring club legend Tom Briscoe go out in style in what was his 400th and final Super League appearance.
Leeds welcomed back the league’s leading try-scorer Maika Sivo after two months out with a broken arm but he, like his team-mates, was way below his best.
The Rhinos went unbeaten at Headingley until August but have now lost their past three games in front of their own fans.
A fourth straight loss in their upcoming semi-final would see a campaign that had promised so much fall short of the Grand Final.
Leeds: Handley, Sivo, Newman, Bird, Hall, Croft, Connor, Oledzki, O’Connor, Lodge, Cassell, Hankinson, Palasia.
Interchanges: Smith, Watkins, Jenkins, Holroyd.
Hull FC: Moy, Barron, Litten, Briscoe, Martin, Bailey, Arthur, Ese,ese, Kemp, Hill, Romano, O’Neill, Bell.
Interchanges: Clark, Hardaker, Laidlaw, Salabio.
Referee: Aaron Moore.
