Briscoe scores on testimonial as Hull FC are humbled by Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos rounded off their pre-season fixtures with a comfortable 38-6 victory against Hull FC, following a dominant second-half display which saw them score three tries in seven minutes, including one from man of the moment Tom Briscoe.
Celebrating his illustrious career, which has seen him play under Richard Agar at both clubs, Briscoe and his family were welcomed with a guard of honour from both sides and some raucous applause from Headingley. A two-time Super League winner, Briscoe has nailed down the number 2 shirt for nearly the duration of his spell, yet today saw debutant David Fusitu’a inherit that shirt from Briscoe, who moves back to his original number 20.
Fusitu’a was a bright spark in a cagey first half for the Rhinos, who fell behind early on as Hull winger Adam Swift broke through on the left hand side, converted superbly by Luke Gale – an ex-Rhinos captain making his inaugural return to Headingley following his departure. However, the Rhinos hit back thanks to a darting run from Harry Newman, laying it off to captain Kruise Leeming to level the scores, who wore the armband for the first time today.
Whilst Newman was taken off to nurse a minor injury, a cagey, resilient display from both sides saw a relatively low-scoring first half, which the Rhinos were able to edge after Liam Sutcliffe powered through Hull’s resolute defence. Davy Litten was stretchered off after a heavy hit from Fusitu’a, adding to Hull’s injury woes as the season approaches – having already lost full back Jake Connor to a ‘potential broken hand’ early on in the game.
With head coach Richard Agar sidelined through COVID-19, Sean Long and Jamie Jones-Buchanan took charge of the Rhinos, and their words of wisdom at the interval incited a rampant reaction from the Rhinos. Briscoe, to the crowd’s delight, was the first of three quick-fire scorers for the Rhinos, who saw their lead stretched to 26-6 by the 50th minute after Aidan Sezer and Richie Myler stormed through a brittle Hull defence.
Rhyse Martin’s perfect pre-season conversion rate sadly came to an end, yet the Papua New Guinea international was on the scene to incisively anticipate Brad Dwyer’s pass for the Rhinos’ seventh and final try of the day, after Blake Austin had powered through under the posts. For the first time in his career, kicking duties were handed over to Briscoe for two short, straight conversions – a touch of class from Martin that further pleased a vibrant Headingley crowd.
Hull could not capitalise when Rhinos lost Aidan Sezer to the sin bin late on, lacking a cutting edge which was reflected brutally in the scoreline, with the Rhinos ending up runaway winners. An encouraging, 100% record in pre-season for Agar’s men, as they begin their Super League campaign at home to Warrington Wolves on Saturday 12th February.
Post Match Reaction
Hull FC head coach Brett Hodgson provided us with some injury updates as he reminded us of the ‘substantially different team’ that Hull FC will field going into round one:
On Jake Connor’s injury: ‘It seems to be our luck at the minute…for what’s at stake at the minute, in terms of a friendly, it seemed to be best to take him off and just protect him for the minute.’
On Hull’s young side: ‘Ultimately, in the second half…we had a lot of kids out there, we had about 60-70% of our salary cap on the sidelines watching tonight. They’ll learn lessons; we got some good things out of it but also lots of things we’ll need to improve.’
Rhinos assistant coach Sean Long was equally forward-thinking to the season ahead, with praise for the returning Jack Walker and debutant Fusitu’a:
On Walker and competition: ‘He looked sharp, didn’t he? He showed some good touches last week against Bradford…he’s been working hard in pre-season and came on at a good time for us. We started to look up a little bit, but I also thought a lot of players played well today.
Competition for places is where we want to be at, compared to last year where we were scratching our head to find a team – at one point I was going to put my boots back on! Whether it’s centre, full back, or 9, it’s good to keep everyone on their toes and I think you get the best out of your players.
We’ve not made any decisions for the Warrington game, there’s ten more days to go yet. Sometimes, you might have a different game plan against a different team.’
On Fusitu’a and his tackle on Litten: ‘We just wanted to give him half a game, and give him a taste of it. It was originally at half-time, but we thought we can push him to fifty and he handled it pretty well.
‘It was legal as well, on looking back, bang on under the ball. He showed some good touches, and his fitness was there, so that’s the main thing for us – he got through the game unscathed, which was fantastic.’
Tom Briscoe on his testimonial and unexpected kicking duties: ‘From the performance, getting a try – and the atmosphere as well, a great turnout. I’d like to thank everyone who came and streamed; it made it a really special day. Obviously, I’ve scored a number of tries over the years, but that was special to get over in my testimonial game.
To be involved with a performance like that…it was a bit of a surprise when Rhyse said ‘here, take the kick!’ and a bit of pressure as well, but some nice easy kicks thankfully…I was able to stand up to the occasion today.’
Image Credit: Rishi Shah
