Hull FC Edge Out Leeds In Yorkshire Derby Thriller

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 second success 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 - in addition to six kicks from Zak Hardaker - suggested the Black and Whites took the two points.


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


After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a gorgeous 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 restart out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half allowed Ligi Sao to crash over from close quarters for his first Super League try in two years.


The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore allowed a kick within range, and Hardaker included two 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 relocation to dot down in front of the checking out advocates.


A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a streaming move as McDonnell wanted to get a second try in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by great rushing defence from Hull.


Another fragile kick - this time from Ash Handley - then found Croft in space to dot down beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had actually added the bonus the score was level at 14-14.


An outstanding ankle-tap take on from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks however after referee Moore had actually penalised the hosts for a high take on 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 penalised for getting the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match again.


And Hull edged themselves back in front minutes later when Hardaker kicked a 5th objective 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 6th successful kick made it a two-score match.


With 5 minutes remaining, Connor started an effort to bring the match to within a transformed shot - however 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 bit of a reality-check' - post-match reaction


Hull FC boss John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're a really dangerous side to bet.


"So, bit worried going into the game, but I understood that we prepared well - there were a few missteps throughout the week however we had a good session Thursday.


"Courage is a prerequisite in any game at this level. Sometimes, you require to reveal a little bit more courage than typical and I thought we did that today.


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


Leeds Rhinos manager Brad Arthur informed BBC Radio Leeds:


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


"It was quite embarrassing, a few of the discipline in the second half. A lot of blokes simply desire to speak about the referee instead of doing their own task. Unsatisfactory.


"It's truly disappointed me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and find 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