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 victory of the Super League season.


An exceptional very first 40 minutes supplied 30 points as both sides took it in turns to take the lead.


Tries from Jake Arthur, Ligi Sao and Davy Litten - in addition to 6 kicks from Zak Hardaker - suggested the Black and Whites took the 2 points.


Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the area of 6 minutes pushed the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC shut out their opponents after the break to go out deserving winners.


After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a beautiful line break from Hull's James Bell allowed him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive underneath the sticks and score versus the side his father coaches.


Leeds then kicked the reboot out on the full, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half enabled Ligi Sao to crash over from close quarters for his first Super League attempt in 2 years.


The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore enabled a kick within variety, 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 eight minutes later when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller found McDonnell on the relocation to dot down in front of the visiting advocates.


A spectacular diving catch from Miller then continued a streaming relocation as McDonnell wanted to get a 2nd shot in a few minutes, however he was stopped on the line by excellent rushing defence from Hull.


Another fragile kick - this time from Ash Handley - then discovered Croft in area to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had added the additionals the rating was level at 14-14.


A superb ankle-tap take on from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but after referee Moore had penalised the hosts for a high deal with in the accumulation, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the best touchline.


Just one minute after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for getting the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match when more.


And Hull edged themselves back in front minutes later on when Hardaker kicked a fifth objective in front of the sticks.


The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's gorgeous grubber kick was gathered on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's sixth effective kick made it a two-score match.


With 5 minutes remaining, Connor kicked in an attempt to bring the match to within a transformed try - however the ball struck the upright and bounced to security as the home side hung on in front of more than 12,000 fans to claim success.


'A little bit of a reality-check' - post-match response


Hull FC manager John Cartwright told BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're a really unsafe side to play versus.


"So, bit worried entering into the video game, however I understood that we prepared well - there were a few missteps during the week but we had a great session Thursday.


"Courage is a prerequisite in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you need to show a bit more courage than normal and I believed we did that today.


"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we contended well. We did the fundamentals a lot much better than we have actually been doing, and that's the foundation of your game. We need to do that 9 times out of 10 now."


Leeds Rhinos manager Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:


"A little bit of a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as excellent as we believe we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I desire our club to be about and belong to.


"It was quite embarrassing, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A lot of chaps simply desire to discuss the referee rather of doing their own job. Not good enough.


"It's truly dissatisfied me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and find that out on Tuesday [when the gamers go back to training]


"What's altered? We went well in Vegas. So what? We need to accept some responsibility and do something about it."


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: .


Hull FC


Leeds Rhinos