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 second victory of the Super League season.
An exceptional 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 - along with six kicks from Zak Hardaker - suggested the Black and Whites took the 2 points.
Carbon-copy tries from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the space of six minutes nudged the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC shut out their challengers after the break to run out deserving winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a lovely line break from Hull's James Bell permitted him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive below the sticks and rating versus the side his father coaches.
Leeds then kicked the restart out on the full, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half allowed Ligi Sao to crash over from close range 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 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 on when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller discovered McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the going to advocates.
A sensational diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing relocation as McDonnell aimed to get a 2nd try 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 space to dot down beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had actually included the additionals the rating was level at 14-14.
An excellent ankle-tap take on from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks however after referee Moore had actually punished the hosts for a high tackle in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front two minutes before the break from the best touchline.
Just 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for taking out the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once more.
And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later on when Hardaker kicked a fifth goal in front of the sticks.
The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's beautiful grubber kick was collected on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's sixth made it a two-score match.
With 5 minutes remaining, Connor started an effort to bring the match to within a transformed shot - but 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 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 nervous going into the video game, but I knew that we prepared well - there were a couple of missteps throughout the week however we had a great session Thursday.
"Courage is a prerequisite in any game at this level. Sometimes, you need to reveal a bit more courage than normal and I thought we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we completed well. We did the fundamentals a lot better than we have actually been doing, and that's the structure of your game. We have to do that nine times out of 10 now."
Leeds Rhinos manager Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:
"A little a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as great 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 embarrassing, some of the discipline in the second half. A lot of chaps simply wish to discuss the referee rather of doing their own task. Unsatisfactory.
"It's really disappointed 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 changed? We went well in Vegas. So what? We need to accept some responsibility 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