Interim Hull FC boss Simon Grix has told his players to remember Saturday's winning feeling in their battle to pull clear of basement side London Broncos.

The Black and Whites are two points above the Broncos in the fight to avoid Super League’s wooden spoon after beating Leeds Rhinos to double their 2024 tally.

Hull's second victory of the campaign ended an 11-match losing run that dated back to early March.

"You need wins, just for how you're feeling because it's been tough," said Grix, who took over from Tony Smith in mid-April.

"If this scenario had come around with five games left and you were playing really poorly, you're just batting it out. It'd be tough still but it's not the end of the world.

"With so much of the season left and the amount of change that's gone on, it's been really difficult.

"I'm really pleased for the lads because it's not been great for them walking around Hull these last few months.

"We just need to back it up now and stay at those levels. The reward of the two points helps.

Hull celebrate a rare win. (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

placeholder image — Hull celebrate a rare win. (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

"Winning is an addictive feeling and now they've got a taste of it. Maybe they'll remember what it's like to close a game out because it's been a while. They hung on when they were tired at the end."

Grix has helped stem the tide during his time at the helm following a five-game period that saw Hull concede 252 points.

After a couple of near misses – including an 18-12 loss to Leeds in their previous home outing in late April – the Black and Whites finally got over the line in their rematch with the Rhinos.

"It's a reward for persistence and hard work because everyone is very fast to bag you when you're not getting results," said Grix.

Lewis Martin, left, is congratulated on scoring the opening try against Leeds. (Photo: Bruce Rollinson)

"They have been working hard and just haven't been getting large parts of it right. We got more right than we got wrong on Saturday.

"We could have made it easier for ourselves and there's still a long way to go to get to where we'd like to be but it's progress and two points.

"I would have taken a god awful performance and two points any time but I thought we did OK. We showed a lot of scramble and commitment towards each other and the jersey. That's important, especially coming home after seven weeks on the road."

Hull took advantage of a sloppy Leeds performance to open up an unassailable lead either side of half-time thanks to tries from Lewis Martin, Denive Balmforth and Cam Scott.

Balmforth's effort against his hometown club in his first outing in two months was timely in both the context of the match and the wider picture as he fights for a new contract at Hull.

"The old boy (Danny Houghton) pulled up so Denive got an opportunity and I'm glad he gave us a little bit of an insight into what he's about," said Grix.

"He's still got a long way to go but he's got some real qualities that if he wants to try harder and put that work in, he's still got plenty in front of him."