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 success of the Super League season.


An outstanding first 40 minutes provided 30 points as both sides took it in turns to take the lead.


Tries from Jake Arthur, Ligi Sao and Davy Litten - as well as 6 kicks from Zak Hardaker - implied the Black and Whites took the two 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 shut out their challengers after the break to run out worthy winners.


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


Leeds then kicked the reboot out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half enabled Ligi Sao to crash over from close range for his very first Super League try in two 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 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 supporters.


A spectacular diving catch from Miller then continued a streaming relocation as McDonnell looked to get a 2nd shot in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by good scrambling defence from Hull.


Another delicate kick - this time from Ash Handley - then in space to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had actually included the additionals ball game was level at 14-14.


An exceptional ankle-tap take on from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks however after referee Moore had punished the hosts for a high take on in the accumulation, Connor kicked Rhinos in front two minutes before the break from the right 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 as soon as more.


And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later on when Hardaker kicked a 5th goal in front of the sticks.


The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's beautiful grubber kick was gathered 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 kicked in 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 held on in front of more than 12,000 fans to claim victory.


'A bit of a reality-check' - post-match response


Hull FC employer John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're an actually unsafe side to bet.


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


"Courage is a requirement in any game at this level. Sometimes, you need to show a little bit more nerve than normal 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've been doing, which's the foundation of your game. We need to do that nine times out of 10 now."


Leeds Rhinos employer Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:


"A little a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as good 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 pretty awkward, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A great deal of blokes simply want to speak about the referee instead of doing their own task. Not great enough.


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