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 triumph of the Super League season.


An outstanding very 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 - along with six kicks from Zak Hardaker - implied 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 worthwhile winners.


After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after five minutes, a beautiful line break from Hull's James Bell permitted him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive beneath the sticks and rating against 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 quarters for his first Super League attempt in 2 years.


The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore enabled a kick within variety, and Hardaker included 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 when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller found McDonnell on the relocation to dot down in front of the checking out supporters.


A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing relocation as McDonnell wanted to get a 2nd try in a couple of minutes, however he was stopped on the line by great scrambling 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 included the bonus ball game was level at 14-14.


An excellent ankle-tap take on from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but 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 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was punished for securing the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once more.


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


The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's stunning 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 remaining, Connor began an to bring the match to within a transformed try - however the ball struck the upright and bounced to safety as the home side held on in front of more than 12,000 fans to claim success.


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


Hull FC manager John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"They're a really unsafe side to bet.


"So, bit nervous going into the video game, however I understood that we prepared well - there were a couple of missteps throughout the week however we had a good session Thursday.


"Courage is a prerequisite in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you require to show a bit more nerve than normal and I believed we did that today.


"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we contended well. We did the essentials a lot better than we have actually been doing, and that's the foundation 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 think we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I desire our club to be about and become part of.


"It was quite humiliating, some of the discipline in the 2nd half. A lot of chaps just wish to speak about the referee instead of doing their own task. Not excellent enough.


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


"What's changed? We went well in Vegas. So what? We require 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