LISONE TO RHINOS'PRAYERS
STEPHEN IBBETSON MKM Stadium, Saturday
HULL FC 12
LEEDS RHINOS 28
Sam Lisone darts through for one of his three tries for Leeds Rhinos
THE equation was simple the winners would keep their season alive, and for the losers it would be over. And thanks to an unlikely hero, it’s Leeds who live to fight another week.
Sam Lisone has recovered from an inauspicious start to his Rhinos career to be a useful forward impact player but, in his first 20 appearances since moving from the Gold Coast, he hadn’t once crossed the line.
Cometh the hour, cometh the Sam the prop scored not once, not twice, but three times to see off Hull FC, in front of the disbelieving visiting supporters to whom he is increasingly becoming a favourite.
All three of Lisone’s tries were crucial in the game, the first two coming at the end of the first half to take Leeds’ lead from two points to 14 after a tight opening half-hour.
Both of those short-range efforts were typical of a frontrower; the third was not. Charging onto Rhyse Martin’s pass, he burst through the line and then sidestepped the fullback, Jamie Shaul.