Leeds 18-16 Hull FC: Rhinos book Grand Final place with tight victory
Last Updated: 30/09/17 1:21pm
Leeds claimed a thrilling 18-16 semi-final victory over Hull to ensure that long-serving half-backs Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow will bring the curtain down on their Rhinos careers at Old Trafford.
The Rhinos prevailed in a tense clash at Headingley to secure an 11th Grand Final appearance - their eighth in the last 11 years - and set up a showdown with table-toppers Castleford next Saturday.
That will provide a fitting farewell for McGuire and Burrow, but Friday's defeat signalled the end for Hull captain Gareth Ellis, the former Leeds forward who hung up his boots after the match, and there was no fairytale ending for winger Mahe Fonua, who is returning to the NRL.
The game may have failed to live up to the drama of Castleford's epic win over St Helens 24 hours earlier, but it was just as breath-taking, with the outcome in doubt until the last second as referee Phil Bentham blew his whistle to mark a 13th successive home win for the Rhinos over the Black and Whites.
It was a night of high emotion on and off the field, as the club bade farewell to the North Stand, which will go the way of the already demolished South Stand as part of a major stadium development.
Hull resembled by-standers at the start of the game as Leeds raced into a 12-0 lead.
They made the most of the position gained from an early penalty conceded by prop Liam Watts, with loose forward Stevie Ward powering his way to the line in the first play and stretching out of a three-man tackle to plant the ball on the line.
Kallum Watkins added the conversion and he was also on target after hooker Matt Parcell had got substitute prop Anthony Mullally romping through a gaping hole in the visitors' defence within seconds of entering the action.
The shell-shocked cup winners gradually worked their way into the game and, after stand-off Albert Kelly had been held up over the line, Ellis proved unstoppable after charging onto Danny Houghton's pass from dummy half.
Marc Sneyd added the goal to make it 12-6, which is how it stayed until half-time, and Hull picked up from where they left in the second half as centre Jake Connor created a try for Fonua with a superb one-handed offload.
Sneyd was unable to convert, so Hull remained two points adrift and were somewhat fortunate not to slip further behind when Leeds prop Brad Singleton reached the line following a barnstorming run only to have his try disallowed, referee Bentham ruling he had failed to ground the ball.
It looked to be a crucial call when, two minutes later, Connor palmed the ball back from Sneyd's kick for second rower Sika Manu to score a try that put Hull in front for the first time.
But Leeds picked themselves up and struck back on 62 minutes when centre Liam Sutcliffe created a try from nothing, evading a string of defenders on a weaving run to the line.
That brought the scores level and Watkins kept his nerve with the conversion to restore his side's advantage and, although there were plenty of nervous moments left in the game, the Rhinos clung on for a famous win
