Hull FC 43-24 Leeds Rhinos
Holders Hull FC turned on the style to book an immediate return to Wembley with a resounding 43-24 Ladbrokes Challenge Cup semi-final rout of Leeds Rhinos.
Urged on by threequarters of the sell-out crowd of 14,526 at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium, the Black and Whites ran in seven tries to four to seal a 16th appearance in rugby league’s famous knockout tournament.
Not even two spectacular tries from England winger Ryan Hall could prevent Hull breaking the Rhinos’ eight-match winning run against the Black and Whites, who ran in three tries in the last quarter to eventually run away with a match that was delicately poised at half-time.
Hull’s imposing pack laid the platform for their second-half rout but it was Australian stand-off Albert Kelly who provided the spark on his return from a two-match injury absence while his half-back partner Marc Sneyd kicked seven goals from seven attempts as well as a drop goal.
Hull, who ended their lifetime wait for a win at Wembley with last year’s victory over Warrington, will meet Salford or Wigan in the August 26 final.
Hall’s two first-half scores seemed to put the visitors in control, but Kelly and Carlos Tuimavave replied before Chris Green scored a vital try just before the break.
Tuimavave continued the momentum with his second after the break before Kallum Watkins. However, Liam Watts, Jamie Shaul and Scott Taylor added three quick tries to wrap up the game before Ashton Golding’s consolation.
Hull coach Lee Radford said: “I was really confident of getting a result, but it went better than I could have expected. It’s super pleasing as a coach when you see it come to fruition.
“You get a sense of when you’re on and I felt that during the week. It all came to fruition.”
Brian McDermott added: “I don’t think we were that bad. The loss was more to do with them being really good on game day. I could be critical of my team, but Hull’s forward ran a bit too strong in the second half. They had a huge amount of field position and we never seemed to get a hold in the game in the second half.
“It will hurt. It’s a tough pill to swallow – we’ve a couple of blokes retiring at the end of the year – and there are some things we need to address in the next few days.”