Riley Lumb marked his Leeds debut with two first-half tries as the Rhinos got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 18-12 victory over struggling Hull at the MKM Stadium.
Lumb, in for injured wing David Fusitu'a, drew Leeds level with a fabulous individual try after Morgan Smith had put Hull ahead before the 19-year-old struck again to put his side 12-6 ahead at half-time.
Cam Smith's try and Rhyse Martin's third successful conversion put Leeds 12 points ahead and they just about held on in a nervy final quarter after Lewis Martin touched down for Hull.
Following home losses to Warrington and Huddersfield, where they twice squandered 12-point advantages, Leeds found some comfort on their travels to alleviate scrutiny on Rohan Smith's position for now.
The Leeds head coach has fielded questions about his position in much the same manner as his uncle Tony had done at Hull, who parted company with the Australian this month following some dismal results.
This was a seventh straight competitive loss for Hull, who remain above only London Broncos in Betfred Super League, but after shipping 50 or more points in four of their last five fixtures, this was a much-improved display.
After weathering some early Leeds pressure, the hosts struck after seven minutes as Jack Walker picked a hole in the Leeds line before unleashing the supporting Morgan Smith to dive over next to the posts.
The lead lasted just five minutes, though, as Lumb vindicated his call-up with a dazzling solo try, collecting the ball on the right flank and cutting inside, showing nimble footwork and plenty of strength to edge to Hull's try line before shrugging off Liam Sutcliffe's challenge to go over.
Walker prevented Leeds from going ahead by getting under the ball to deny Mickael Goudemand a try while Hull were also grateful for Lewis Martin for dragging Luis Roberts' foot into touch before he swooped over in the left corner.
Leeds' persistence paid off, though, as Lumb claimed his second try five minutes before the interval, just about beating Walker as several players converged on the ball to get a hand to Brodie Croft's teasing grubber.
Hull were unable to capitalise after Leeds coughed up a couple of penalties deep in their own half but the visitors made no mistake following a Walker knock-on on his own 20-metre line, with Paul Momirovski's short pass creating a small opening for Cam Smith to dot down.
But a mistake at the restart from Leeds teenager Alfie Edgell gifted Hull possession and they narrowed the deficit to six points courtesy of Lewis Martin's 54th-minute try in the right corner.
Leeds thought they had their fourth try when scrum-half Matt Frawley touched down but the video referee chalked off the effort after deciding Andy Ackers fumbled inches short of the try-line in the build-up.
Croft was wayward with a 30-metre drop goal and tensions rose in the final 20 minutes although Hull were unable to create anything substantial despite dominating possession as the Leeds defence held firm to secure a fifth league win in nine games which keeps them eighth in the standings.
'I've worked hard to get here'
Player of the Match, Leeds Rhinos' Riley Lumb:
"I'm really happy. I just played the way I normally play and hopefully I can keep doing what I'm doing.
"I've been working hard in training to get here, hopefully I can get a few more games under my belt. I got told on Thursday at training that I'll be making my debut and trained again on Saturday.
"During the game, I saw some space and I just went for it, luckily I got there. I'm not too bothered about what position I'm playing in as long as I'm playing."
What's next?
Leeds Rhinos return to action when they take on London Broncos on Friday May 3 at 8:00pm live on Sky Sports Mix whilst Hull FC come up against Warrington Wolves at 8:00pm on Sky Sports Action.
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