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 declare their 2nd victory of the Super League season.


An exceptional 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 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 challengers after the break to run out worthwhile winners.


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


Leeds then kicked the restart out on the complete, for which into Rhinos territory, and evasive 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 made it possible for a kick within range, and Hardaker added two more points as the visitors' deficit increased to 12 points after just 17 minutes.


But Rhinos were back in the contest 8 minutes later when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller discovered McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the visiting supporters.


A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a streaming move 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 fragile kick - this time from Ash Handley - then discovered Croft in space to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had actually added the extras the rating was level at 14-14.


An excellent ankle-tap deal with from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but after referee Moore had penalised the hosts for a high tackle in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the ideal touchline.


Just one minute after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was punished for securing the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once again.


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


The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's gorgeous grubber kick was collected on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's 6th successful kick made it a two-score match.


With 5 minutes staying, Connor started 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 declare success.


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


Hull FC employer John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're an actually dangerous side to bet.


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


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


"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we contended well. We did the fundamentals a lot much better than we've been doing, which's the structure of your video game. We have to do that nine times out of 10 now."


Leeds Rhinos employer Brad Arthur informed BBC Radio Leeds:


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


"It was quite awkward, a few of the discipline in the second half. A great deal of blokes simply wish to discuss the referee rather of doing their own job. Not excellent enough.


"It's really disappointed me. We require to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and discover that out on Tuesday [when the players return to training]


"What's altered? We worked out in Vegas. So what? We require to accept some accountability 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: Liam Moore.


Hull FC


Leeds Rhinos