McDermott mocks the odds after beating Hull

Brian McDermott is happy to joke about bookmakers believing he will be the first Super League coach to get sacked this season. "I've had a tenner on myself," he said after his Harlequins team, who leaked 47 points at home to Wigan in the opening round, outplayed Hull in front of their disgruntled supporters.

Hull were booed off at halftime

and many fans headed

for the exits long before the

end. Coach Peter Sharp said

the booing was justified. 'Our

fans pay good money to watch

us and they expect to see

passion and energy.

Power: Jon Wells runs into Hull’s defence

"We started poorly and gifted

Harlequins a couple of tries

with our unforced errors. It

was always going to be hard

to get back at them after that

and we just didn't do enough

right. But we need the fans to

be patient because we're

going through a tough patch."

Hull's pre-season injury

nightmare — they were

missing seven senior players

again — came home to roost,

yet the target of the crowd's

wrath was full back Motu Tony,

who was unnerved by Danny

Orr's tactical kicking.

Quins grew in confidence

after three tries in the

opening 16 minutes through

Rob Purdham, David Howell

and Matt Gafa.

Hull had plenty of scoring

opportunities, but lacked

leadership and their ball

control and decision-making

repeatedly let them down.

Chad Randall, outstanding at

hooker for Quins, and Gafa,

with his second try, stretched

the lead to 24-0 and only Shaun Berrigan's late

touchdown spared Hull from

being 'nilled'.

Quins coach McDermott's

biggest worry was when his

Australian stand off Scott Hill

was carried off in a neck brace

after a lengthy hold-up early

in the second half. McDermott

said: "He will still be out for

about six weeks. Our focus

after losing to Wigan was to

give a good performance. I

was quite prepared to come

off second best as long as we

played well."

They did. The problems were

all Hull's.