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 triumph of the Super League season.
An impressive 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 - as well as 6 kicks from Zak Hardaker - implied the Black and Whites took the two points.
Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the area of 6 minutes pushed the Rhinos into a narrow half-time lead but Hull FC shut out their opponents after the break to run out deserving winners.
After kicked Leeds in front after 5 minutes, a lovely line break from Hull's James Bell enabled him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive beneath the sticks and rating against the side his dad coaches.
Leeds then kicked the restart out on the complete, for which Hull moved into Rhinos territory, and evasive play from Amir Bourouh at dummy half enabled Ligi Sao to crash over from close range for his first Super League try in two years.
The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore enabled 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 8 minutes later on when an inch-perfect kick from Lachie Miller found 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 aimed to get a second shot in a few minutes, however he was stopped on the line by excellent scrambling defence from Hull.
Another delicate kick - this time from Ash Handley - then discovered Croft in space to dot down next to the sticks, and by the time Connor had actually included the extras the rating was level at 14-14.
A superb ankle-tap tackle from Cade Cust stopped Chris Hankinson in his tracks but after referee Moore had punished the hosts for a high tackle in the accumulation, Connor kicked Rhinos in front 2 minutes before the break from the best touchline.
Just 60 seconds after half-time, Leeds' Maika Sivo was punished for getting the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match once again.
And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later on when Hardaker kicked a fifth objective in front of the sticks.
The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's gorgeous grubber kick was collected on the bounce by Litten to dot down and Hardaker's sixth successful kick made it a two-score match.
With five minutes remaining, Connor began an effort to bring the match to within a converted 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 triumph.
'A little bit of a reality-check' - post-match response
Hull FC boss John Cartwright informed BBC Radio Humberside:
"They're a really dangerous side to bet.
"So, bit anxious entering into the game, however I knew that we prepared well - there were a few hiccups throughout the week but we had a good session Thursday.
"Courage is a prerequisite in any game at this level. Sometimes, you need 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 basics a lot better than we have actually been doing, and that's the foundation of your video game. We have to do that 9 times out of 10 now."
Leeds Rhinos manager Brad Arthur told 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 pretty awkward, a few of the discipline in the 2nd half. A great deal of blokes just wish to talk about the referee instead of doing their own job. Unsatisfactory.
"It's really disappointed me. We require to get to the bottom of it [the ill-discipline] and find that out on Tuesday [when the gamers return to training]
"What's changed? We worked out in Vegas. So what? We need to accept some responsibility and throw down the gauntlet."
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