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 impressive 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 - indicated 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 however Hull FC locked out their challengers after the break to run out deserving winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a stunning line break from Hull's James Bell permitted him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive underneath 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 enabled Ligi Sao to crash over from close variety for his first Super League attempt in 2 years.
The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore allowed a kick within range, and Hardaker added 2 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 relocation to dot down in front of the checking out fans.
A sensational diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing move as McDonnell wanted to get a second try in a couple of minutes, however 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 beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had included the additionals the score 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 actually punished the hosts for a high take on in the accumulation, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the right touchline.
Just one minute after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for getting the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once more.
And Hull edged themselves back in front minutes later when Hardaker kicked a fifth in front of the sticks.
The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's stunning grubber kick was collected on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's sixth effective kick made it a two-score match.
With 5 minutes staying, Connor kicked in an effort to bring the match to within a converted 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 claim success.
'A little a reality-check' - post-match response
Hull FC manager John Cartwright told BBC Radio Humberside:
"They're an actually hazardous side to bet.
"So, bit anxious entering into the video game, however I knew that we prepared well - there were a couple of missteps during the week but we had a good session Thursday.
"Courage is a requirement in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you require to reveal a bit more guts than typical and I believed we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we completed 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 boss Brad Arthur informed 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 be part of.
"It was quite awkward, a few of the discipline in the second half. A great deal of chaps simply want to speak about the referee instead of doing their own job. Unsatisfactory.
"It's really disappointed me. We require to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and find that out on Tuesday [when the players go back to training]
"What's changed? 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