The latest round of matches in the Super League XXX season begins on Thursday night when two sides who have made promising starts to the campaign meet at the MKM Stadium as Hull FC go up against the Leigh Leopards.
Hull FC have won two of their three matches to date while the Leopards have gone one better than that so we should have two confident sides lining up here looking to do battle for two more valuable competition points.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Action channel with the build-up in Humberside beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick off.
Hull FC
When you consider what a wretched campaign Hull FC had last term, it wasn’t going to take much this time around to put together a better showing than that but the fact that they have already picked up 66% of the win total that they achieved last season is testament both to how bad they were in the previous campaign, but also the improvements they have made going into this one. If they can come out on top here things would start to look much better for the Black and Whites.
They have two wins and a loss in their three matches. The defeat was to Wigan Warriors and we saw last week that there is definitely no disgrace in that while the wins were against Catalans Dragons and Huddersfield Giants. You could argue about exactly what they beat in those matches but wins are wins. The fight that they showed against Huddersfield last week was the thing that caught the eye the most and if they can muscle up in defence like that here they will give themselves every chance.
Leigh Leopards
The Leigh Leopards have won their opening three matches this season. They were involved in that incredible 1-0 golden point win against the Wigan Warriors in their opening match before they eased past the Huddersfield Giants and the Catalans Dragons and now they will be looking to go on the road for the second time in this Super League campaign and put two points on the board. If they can do that they would set the early pace at the top of the table.
Injuries are beginning to become a bit of a concern for the Leopards but we have to acknowledge that in 240 minutes of rugby so far this season they have conceded just 16 points, which includes a clean sheet against the Wigan Warriors which takes some doing. We probably haven’t seen the best of Leigh in attack, some of which is down to the players they are missing but also because it is still early in the season. They will be hoping to show more in that department here.
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Team News
Hull FC have a few injuries to contend with going into this match. Ed Chamberlain and Denive Balmforth join the likes of Ligi Sao, Zak Hardaker, Davy Litten and Oliver Holmes in the treatment room but Sam Eseh has joined on loan in time to play.
Leigh Leopards have their own issues with personnel. Every bit of time is going to be given to new recruit David Armstrong to see if he is fit enough to play after illness but Robbie Mulhern joins Josh Charnley, Frankie Halton and Ben Nakubuwai in the treatment room. Darnell McIntosh and Umyla Hanley are doubts too.
Betting
This one feels like it could be a close match. I don’t think we’ve seen either attack at how they would want it to be when they are at their best so far this season and the injuries that both teams have could easily skew this to being a much tighter match than it might look on paper. If this was in Leigh then I would probably be more confident in a Leigh Leopards win here but Hull FC showed good mettle last week and might just relish the test here.
The one thing Hull FC have in their favour is an in form half-back in Aidan Sezer and his kicking game and quality should keep Hull FC close. They have a solid pack that hasn’t had too many injuries to take too much steam out of it and home advantage is another thing on their side. I wouldn’t be overly surprised if Hull FC win this because Leigh are missing some huge talents but given the short turnaround and things I’ll play it a little safer and take Hull FC with the six point start.
Tips
Back Hull FC (+6) to beat Leigh Leopards for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
