Hull's injury problems ahead of their Challenge Cup final date with St Helens next weekend increased as they ended Harlequins' hopes of reaching the Super League play-offs with a victory at the KC Stadium.

Coach Richard Agar already had serious fitness doubts over four first-choice players ahead of the Wembley clash and watched on as Todd Byrne and Motu Tony both suffered fresh injuries.

With Matt Sing also pulling out before the game with a quadriceps injury, Agar is unlikely to take too much solace in his side arresting their three-game losing streak with a win which all but ended their chances of finishing bottom of the table.

The injured trio join Garreth Carvell, Adam Dykes, Richard Horne and Paul King on the sidelines, with Byrne looking the most likely to recover his fitness in time after spending the last 10 minutes of the game stretching on the sidelines.

Brian McDermott's Quins side went into the game knowing only two wins from their remaining two games would keep their top-six bid alive, but they failed miserably in all departments and created hardly any noteworthy chances.

Despite both sides needing the win for differing reasons, the first half had a distinct end-of-season feel to it and ended with Hull 14-0 up after tries from Ewan Dowes and Tony.

Dowes' try, a first in 89 games, was a close-range drive and opened the scoring after nine minutes, before Tony closed out the half with another short-distance effort after Ricky Sheriffe had fumbled Danny Houghton's chip kick.

In between times there was little for the crowd to shout about barring a couple of excellent breaks from Hull's Willie Manu, the most notable of which ended with Lee Radford carelessly spilling the ball after a 60-metre break from the Tongan, while Danny Tickle slotted a penalty to add to Hull's lead.

Byrne - in his first game back after two months out with a knee injury - limped off just four minutes into the second half before Scott Hill squandered the Quins' first real chance as he lost possession while trying to drive his way over the line.

Byrne was soon forced to hobble back into the action though, as Tony, in only his second game after a four-month lay-off, was carried off following an innocuous looking tackle.

Graeme Horne brought attention back to playing matters with a well-worked try on the hour mark as he swooped on Danny Washbrook's neat ball, before Byrne was replaced again after struggling to continue.

Tickle then missed the opportunity to extend the lead further when he missed his first kick of a night with a penalty, but with the visitors lost in all departments, it mattered little as first Tommy Lee punted a 40-20 kick and then Kirk Yeaman barged his way over a fourth try.

With Tickle taken off, Radford was given the task of kicking the goal, before Chris Melling finally registered a score for the Quins as he took in David Howell's ball to skip clear.