Sezer’s coolly-taken 35-yard penalty extended Hull’s advantage further and, despite a spell of Leigh pressure, his successful captain’s challenge against a ball steal enabled the Black & Whites to break again.
Another weaving run from Pryce set up Martin in the corner and, with Sezer slotting a more routine kick after Trout was harshly penalised for a high tackle on the scrum-half, the home side were looking ragged.
Leigh’s hopes of reaching half-time without sustaining further damage were dashed right on the hooter as Sezer darted through once again to set up Eseh under the posts for Hull’s fourth try to make it 26-0 at the break.
Adrian Lam’s men worked to respond after the turnaround, repeatedly gaining territory with no end product, although Ipape and Alec Tuitavake were both held up close to their target.
A glimmer of hope materialised for the Leopards on the hour mark, when the pressure told as Ipape broke through, diving over between the posts and it needed smart defending by Zak Hardaker to prevent Trout from getting the ball down again soon afterwards.
Trout was not to be denied, however, collecting Ben McNamara’s pass to add his name to the scoresheet after Lachlan Lam’s crossfield 40-20 kick had kept Leigh in the ascendancy.
Hull still had to battle to keep the home side out after storming breaks by Bailey Hodgson and Josh Charnley, but the clock was always against Leigh – who missed an opportunity to make up ground on the top two.
The only negatives for the visitors were injuries to Cust, who went off after taking a blow to the ribs, and ex-Leopards loose forward John Asiata, who was replaced at half-time because of a leg strain.
