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 victory of the Super League season.
An outstanding 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 - as well as 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 area of six minutes pushed the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC shut out their opponents after the break to go out worthy winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after five minutes, a gorgeous line break from Hull's James Bell enabled him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive below the sticks and score against the side his father coaches.
Leeds then kicked the restart out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos area, and evasive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half allowed Ligi Sao to crash over from close variety for his very 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 added two more points as the visitors' deficit increased to 12 points after just 17 minutes.
But Rhinos were back in the contest 8 minutes later on when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller found McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the visiting fans.
A spectacular diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing relocation as McDonnell wanted to get a 2nd shot in a few minutes, but he was stopped on the line by excellent scrambling defence from Hull.
Another fragile kick - this time from Ash Handley - then found Croft in area to dot down beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had added the bonus the score was level at 14-14.
An outstanding ankle-tap deal with from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but after referee Moore had actually penalised the hosts for a high tackle in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the .
Just one minute after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was penalised for taking out the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match again.
And Hull edged themselves back in front minutes later on when Hardaker kicked a fifth goal in front of the sticks.
The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's gorgeous grubber kick was gathered on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's sixth successful kick made it a two-score match.
With 5 minutes staying, Connor kicked in an attempt 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 a truly hazardous side to play versus.
"So, bit nervous going into the game, but I understood that we prepared well - there were a few hiccups throughout the week however we had an excellent session Thursday.
"Courage is a requirement in any video game at this level. Sometimes, you require to show a little bit more guts than normal and I thought we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we completed well. We did the essentials a lot better than we've been doing, and that's the foundation 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 bit of 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 become part of.
"It was quite embarrassing, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A lot of chaps simply want to discuss the referee rather of doing their own job. Unsatisfactory.
"It's truly disappointed me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and discover that out on Tuesday [when the players go back to training]
"What's altered? We worked out in Vegas. So what? We need 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