Rugby League Coaching Manuals

The Rhinos looked to be suffering from a Wembley hangover when they trailed 12-0 at half-time but they scored three second half tries, two of them from impressive stand-off Danny McGuire, to snatch victory in the last match of the regular season.

Hull were still leading with 10 minutes to go but the effects of playing most of the match a man short following the dismissal of Lee Radford eventually caught up with them.

The champions' reward is a trip to leaders Wigan in next Sunday's qualifying play-off while Hull face sudden-death rugby from the start of the play-off series.

Hull were reduced to 12 men after only nine minutes after an uncharacteristic rush of blood to the head from club captain Radford earned him a red card.

Radford, who this week pledged his future to the club by signing a new two-year contract, took exception to apparent use of the elbow by Leeds prop Ryan Bailey and began swinging punches which did not miss their target.

Referee Ian Smith, a late replacement for a sick Phil Bentham, decided on a dismissal while Bailey ended up in the blood bin and was roundly booed on his return.

Hull had first-choice half-backs Sean Long and Richard Horne in tandem for only the fifth time this year and they looked the more organised team in the first half.

Even before the dismissal, the game had been open with Hull stand-off Horne and McGuire producing clean breaks that prompted some desperate defence but it took 22 minutes for the first score to come and it went to Hull.

An offload from the tackle by centre Kirk Yeaman created space on the right and England international Tom Briscoe came off his wing to beat three defenders on a superb run to the line.

The score appeared to knock the early confidence from the champions and Hull doubled their lead eight minutes before the break when Long and Craig Fitzgibbon combined cleverly to get substitute Danny Washbrook racing away to the line.

Danny Tickle converted both tries to make it 12-0 but the Leeds fightback began just three minutes into the second half when Hull put themselves under pressure by conceding back-to-back penalties.

Leeds made both the pressure and their man advantage pay when Rob Burrow's cut-out pass gave winger Scott Donald a clear run to the line.

Kevin Sinfield's touchline conversion made it 12-6 and Leeds ought to have been level when centre Lee Smith breached the Hull line but slow motion replays indicated a knock-on as he attempted to ground the ball.

As at Wembley, panic set in among the Rhinos ranks and there was clear frustration on the hour when they disputed referee Smith's decision to award a penalty for ball-stealing.

Fitzgibbon punished the error with a penalty goal to put the home side two scores in front but the deficit was back to just two points when a break from Burrow set up the position for his half-back partner McGuire to jink his way over for a second Leeds try which Sinfield converted.

The game was finely balanced when Donald pulled off a timely interception to break up a threatening Hull attack and Leeds went up field to score the winning try through that man McGuire, whose brilliant footwork undid the hosts' defence.