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 2nd success of the Super League season.


An exceptional very 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 - along with six kicks from Zak Hardaker - meant the Black and Whites took the 2 points.


Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the space of 6 minutes nudged the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC locked out their opponents after the break to run out worthwhile winners.


After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after five minutes, a beautiful line break from Hull's James Bell enabled him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive below the sticks and rating against the side his daddy coaches.


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


The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore allowed a kick within range, and Hardaker included 2 more points as the visitors' deficit increased to 12 points after just 17 minutes.


But Rhinos were back in the contest eight minutes later on when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller discovered McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the going to supporters.


A spectacular diving catch from Miller then continued a streaming relocation as McDonnell looked to get a second try in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by good 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 added the additionals ball game was level at 14-14.


An exceptional 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 accumulation, Connor kicked Rhinos in front two minutes before the break from the right touchline.


Just 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once again.


And Hull edged themselves back in front minutes later when Hardaker kicked a 5th 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 started an attempt to bring the match to within a transformed try - but the ball struck the upright and bounced to safety as the home side hung on in front of more than 12,000 fans to declare victory.


'A bit of a reality-check' - post-match reaction


Hull FC manager John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're an actually hazardous side to bet.


"So, bit nervous going into the game, but I knew that we prepared well - there were a couple of missteps during the week however we had an excellent session Thursday.


"Courage is a requirement in any game at this level. Sometimes, you require to show a little bit more guts than usual 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, which's the structure of your video game. We need to do that nine 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 good as we think we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I desire our club to be about and become part of.


"It was quite awkward, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A great deal of blokes just desire to talk about the referee instead of doing their own job. Unsatisfactory.


"It's truly dissatisfied me. We require 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 worked out in Vegas. So what? We require to accept some accountability and find a solution for 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: Liam Moore.


Hull FC


Leeds Rhinos