Hull FC Edge Out Leeds In Yorkshire Derby Thriller
ByMatthew Cresswell
BBC Sport England
22 March 2026
206 Comments
Hull FC (14) 24
Tries: Arthur, Sao, Litten Goals: Hardaker 6
Leeds (16) 16
Tries: McDonnell, Croft Goals: Connor 4
Hull FC edged out Leeds Rhinos in a pulsating Yorkshire derby to claim their second triumph of the Super League season.
An outstanding first 40 minutes offered 30 points as both sides took it in turns to take the lead.
Tries from Jake Arthur, Ligi Sao and Davy Litten - as well as 6 kicks from Zak Hardaker - meant the Black and Whites took the two points.
Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the space of six minutes nudged the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC shut out their challengers after the break to run out worthy winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after five minutes, a beautiful line break from Hull's James Bell permitted him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive underneath the sticks and score versus the side his daddy coaches.
Leeds then kicked the reboot out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos area, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half permitted Ligi Sao to crash over from close variety for his very first Super League try in two years.
The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore made it possible for a kick within range, and Hardaker included 2 more points as the visitors' deficit increased to 12 points after simply 17 minutes.
But Rhinos were back in the contest 8 minutes later on when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller discovered McDonnell on the relocation to dot down in front of the checking out supporters.
A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing relocation as McDonnell looked to get a second shot in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by great scrambling defence from Hull.
Another delicate kick - this time from Ash Handley - then discovered Croft in area to dot down beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had included the additionals the score was level at 14-14.
An outstanding ankle-tap deal with from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks however after referee Moore had punished the hosts for a high deal with in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the ideal touchline.
Just 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for taking out the marker and over to level the match again.
And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later on when Hardaker kicked a fifth goal in front of the sticks.
The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's stunning grubber kick was gathered on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's 6th effective kick made it a two-score match.
With five minutes remaining, Connor began an effort to bring the match to within a converted shot - however the ball struck the upright and bounced to security as the home side held on in front of more than 12,000 fans to claim triumph.
'A bit of a reality-check' - post-match reaction
Hull FC employer John Cartwright told BBC Radio Humberside:
"They're a really unsafe side to play against.
"So, bit nervous going into the video game, however I understood that we prepared well - there were a couple of missteps during the week however we had a good session Thursday.
"Courage is a requirement in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you need to reveal a little bit more courage than normal and I believed we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we completed well. We did the essentials a lot much better than we've been doing, which's the foundation of your game. We have to do that nine times out of 10 now."
Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:
"A little a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as great as we think we are. A few of that ill-discipline is not what I desire our club to be about and become part of.
"It was quite humiliating, some of the discipline in the 2nd half. A great deal of blokes simply desire to speak about the referee instead of doing their own task. Unsatisfactory.
"It's really dissatisfied me. We require to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and discover that out on Tuesday [when the gamers go back to training]
"What's changed? We went well in Vegas. So what? We require to accept some responsibility and throw down the gauntlet."
Hull FC: Hardaker; Briscoe, Romano, Litten, Martin; Cust, Arthur; Hill, Bourouh, Sao, Bell, Bailey, Asiata.
Interchanges: C Kemp, Fash, Laidlaw, Lisone.
Leeds: Miller; Sivo, Newman, Handley, Hankinson; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, Levi, Palasia, Watkins, McDonnell, C. Smith.
Interchanges: Holroyd, Jenkins, O'Connor, Bird.
Referee: Liam Moore.
Hull FC
Leeds Rhinos