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 2nd victory of the 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 - as well as 6 kicks from Zak Hardaker - indicated the Black and Whites took the 2 points.
Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the space of 6 minutes nudged the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC locked out their challengers after the break to go out worthwhile winners.
After Jake Connor kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a gorgeous line break from Hull's James Bell allowed him to unselfishly established Arthur to dive beneath the sticks and score versus the side his daddy coaches.
Leeds then kicked the restart out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos area, and elusive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half enabled Ligi Sao to crash over from close quarters for his first Super League try in 2 years.
The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore made it possible for a kick within variety, 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 move to dot down in front of the visiting advocates.
A stunning diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing move as McDonnell wanted to get a 2nd shot in a couple of minutes, however he was stopped on the line by good scrambling defence from Hull.
Another delicate kick - this time from Ash Handley - then found Croft 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 tackle from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks however after referee Moore had punished the hosts for a high take on in the build-up, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the best touchline.
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 when Hardaker kicked a fifth objective 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 effective kick made it a two-score match.
With five minutes remaining, Connor began an effort to bring the match to within a transformed try - 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 declare triumph.
'A little bit of a reality-check' - post-match response
Hull FC employer John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:
"They're an actually dangerous side to play versus.
"So, bit anxious entering into the game, but I knew that we prepared well - there were a few hiccups 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 reveal a bit more courage than normal and I believed we did that today.
"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we completed well. We did the fundamentals a lot much better than we've been doing, and that's the structure of your video game. We have to do that nine times out of 10 now."
Leeds Rhinos employer Brad Arthur informed BBC Radio Leeds:
"A little bit of a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as excellent as we believe we are. Some of that ill-discipline is not what I want our club to be about and become part of.
"It was pretty awkward, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A great deal of chaps just wish to speak about the referee instead of doing their own task. Not good enough.
"It's actually dissatisfied me. We need to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and discover that out on Tuesday [when the players return to training]
"What's altered? 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