Hull FC v Leeds Rhinos: Brett Hodgson wary of 'desperate' visitors as Rohan Smith makes admission

The Black and Whites won comfortably at Headingley in March, thanks in no small part to a virtuoso two-try display from Jake Connor.

Hull will be without the influential full-back for today's meeting with Leeds at the MKM Stadium, while the visitors also have a different look.

Smith has implemented a new style since replacing Richard Agar in the Rhinos hot seat and there is different personnel in the shape of Kruise Leeming, James Bentley, Richie Myler and Zak Hardaker, four players that did not feature in the reverse fixture.

Despite shipping 72 points in their last two games, Hodgson has seen enough from Leeds to convince him it will be a different kind of test in round 17.

"They'll be desperate," said Hodgson.

"Where they sit in the table, they'll see this as an opportunity to come here and get the two points.

"We know their strengths and that we need to be good on both sides of the ball.

"They're a much more desperate team and a much better team that works for each other defensively in particular. It's difficult to score points against them because they scramble well.

"It's going to be a tough challenge but I'm confident we'll perform better than we have in the last couple of weeks."

Hull are fresh from a nilling at Warrington Wolves, a third straight Super League defeat for Hodgson's side.

The Black and Whites lost Luke Gale to a head injury at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, meaning teenager Jacob Hookem will partner Joe Lovodua in the halves from the start this week.

"It was a tough gig for him last weekend considering we thought we'd use him as a hooker," said Hodgson.

"He has played half-back in the academy but a lot of his playing lately has been at hooker, even when he went to Whitehaven.

"There were moments in his game he could be really proud of. He's still learning his role so we're not expecting Jacob Hookem to be the best version of himself at 19 years old. He's someone we do have high hopes for.

"We understand our attack was very disjointed and we've done a little bit more work offensively this week.

"There are many reasons for that, but we're hopeful we'll be better this weekend."

The recent dip in form has led to comparisons with the second half of last season when Hull fell away badly on their way to nine defeats in 10 games.

Hodgson is convinced there will be no repeat ahead of his side's return to the MKM Stadium, where they have won six on the bounce.

"There's no panic from within and we're excited about this weekend," he said.

"I think the players are definitely better equipped and I learnt a lot at the end of last year to help us deal with this situation. I'm confident we'll turn this around."

Hull remain in the top six despite recent results and are five points better off than the Rhinos.

Smith has admitted that Leeds must make their move soon if they are to qualify for the play-offs.

"We're going to have to win a lot of games to progress up the table,” he said.

“It's a week-to-week opportunity. We weren’t happy with our execution last weekend so we're clearly looking to improve on that, while still applying the same effort and intensity to our game.”

Hodgson's men have issues in their spine but Smith is more concerned about his own team's shortcomings.

“I'm expecting them to run hard and compete physically really hard," he added.

“They will have some different combinations, I would imagine, in their spine with a few injuries and things like that going on there, but we really need to focus on our own execution and application."