Leeds Rhinos coach Rohan Smith talks win over Hull FC, Tom Holroyd's England call and Aidan Sezer injury

Holroyd was among Rhinos’ substitutes for the first time this season at the end of a week when he was called into the England squad.

Sam Lisone took over in the starting 13 and explaining his decision, Smith said: “It was an opportunity for Sam to start and Tom to play some more minutes.

“He did well and had some real impact. It wasn’t a demotion to the bench, it was to give him an opportunity to attack a more tired defensive line.

“He did that and the England call up was certainly warranted, he would be in the top bunch of middle-unit English forewards in the competition”

Holroyd scored one of Rhinos’ three first-half tries as they built an 18-0 half-time lead. Assessing Rhinos’ performance, Smith said: “We still weren’t great, but we’ve got plenty in us. We’re probably a better defensive team than an attacking one at the moment.”

The coach reflected: “It was a clumsy game all-round, but I thought we had enough patches where we showed enough flow with the ball and overall our defence was very good, aside from a couple of moments when we were a little disconnected chasing kicks.”

Smith confirmed half-back Aidan Sezer passed a head injury assessment (hia) in the first-half, despite not coming out after the break.

“We did okay while he was off for his hia,” Smith reflected. “He passed that, it was more of a choice at half-time.

“He had a contusion, a really sore spot, rather than any concussion symptoms and he’d also rolled his ankle a bit. I was very keen to give Ash Handley some time at full-back.”