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 victory of the Super League season.
An 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 - implied the Black and Whites took the 2 points.
Carbon-copy tries from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the area of six minutes nudged the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC locked out their opponents after the break to go out worthy winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a stunning line break from Hull's James Bell allowed him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive underneath the sticks and rating versus the side his daddy coaches.
Leeds then kicked the restart out on the full, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and evasive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half permitted Ligi Sao to crash over from close quarters for his first Super League try in 2 years.
The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore made it possible for a kick within variety, and Hardaker added 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 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 flowing move as McDonnell wanted to get a 2nd shot in a couple of minutes, but he was stopped on the line by excellent rushing defence from Hull.
Another delicate kick - this time from Ash Handley - then found Croft in area to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had included the extras the score was level at 14-14.
An outstanding ankle-tap deal with from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but after referee Moore had penalised the hosts for a high take on in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front two 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 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 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 began 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 held on in front of more than 12,000 fans to declare victory.
'A little a reality-check' - post-match response
Hull FC manager John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:
"They're a really harmful side to play against.
"So, bit anxious going into the video game, however 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 prerequisite in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you require to reveal a little bit more nerve than typical and I believed we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we contended well. We did the basics a lot much better than we have actually been doing, which's the structure of your game. We need to do that nine times out of 10 now."
Leeds Rhinos manager Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:
"A bit of a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as good as we believe we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I desire our club to be about and be part of.
"It was pretty awkward, some of the discipline in the second half. A lot of chaps just wish to talk about the referee rather of doing their own job. Not great enough.
"It's really disappointed me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and discover that out on Tuesday [when the gamers return to training]
"What's changed? We went well in Vegas. So what? We need 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