An impressive performance from start to finish from Hull FC saw Brett Hodgson’s side score 12 tries against a struggling Leigh. It was Hull’s highest points tally in a Betfred Super League game for eight years.
With key players missing and Leigh’s performances improving as of late some thought it could be a difficult afternoon for Hull at the Leigh Sports Village, but Hull’s performance showed how wrong they were.
A good start to the match was key for the Centurions but inside the opening minute, they found themselves a try behind. A knock-on from the kick-off and three tackles later, Jake Connor opened the scoring. With only a minute on the clock, it looked as though it could be a long afternoon for Kurt Haggerty’s side. Leigh did respond to take the lead through James Bell but that was as good as it got for the hosts.
A rampant Hull side went on to score six more first-half tries to take a 34-6 lead into the break. At the interval, it was a case of how many points the visitors would get with the game already away from Leigh.
Five second-half tries followed with Andre Savelio scoring his first-ever career hat-trick. There were also tries for the young Hull-born Connor Wynne and Jack Brown to cap off a sensational performance.
Jake Connor took the Man of the Match award after an excellent individual performance with one try and five assists. Amongst the big names of Jake Connor, Marc Sneyd and Josh Reynolds, the standout performer was Connor Wynne in only his second appearance of the season.
Predominantly a full-back, the 20-year-old filled in at centre due to Hull suffering from nine injuries. Both Carlos Tuimavave and Cameron Scott were ruled out after the win against Castleford Tigers last time out, leaving the centre spot vacant.
In his first Betfred Super League appearance of the season, Wynne took the opportunity and impressed on the right edge alongside Bureta Faraimo and he was heavily involved in the Black and Whites’ fourth try. An excellent catch-and-pass skill from the centre put Faraimo in at the corner for his first try of the season.
Just like the first-half, Hull scored another try in the opening minute of the second-half. Connor broke at pace and had Wynne in support on his inside who raced clear to go under the posts for a well-deserved try.
The ninth try of the match is a contender for the try of the season. Adam Swift poked his nose through the line before finding Reynolds with the offload. He fed Savelio back inside who found Wynne in support with a sublime offload. The youngster managed to wrestle off two Leigh defenders before Reynolds took the pass. Jordan Lane was next and his short ball to Jack Brown saw the prop step past the onrushing defender to score.
As the game began to look like men against boys, three more tries followed for Hull with Savelio grabbing his second which was quickly followed by Chris Satae crashing over. The game was capped off with Savelio taking the short ball from Connor before walking over for his hat-trick.
After a defeat in the Challenge Cup semi-finals three weeks ago, Hull have put the cup disappointment behind them with big wins over Castleford and Leigh. Up next is Huddersfield Giants for Brett Hodgson’s side as they look to make it three wins in a row in the league.
As for Leigh, the games don’t get any easier. They face Warrington, Leeds and Hull FC again in the next three weeks. Heading into Round 11 still winless, will that long-awaited first win ever come?
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