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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 second success of the Super League 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 - meant the Black and Whites took the 2 points.

Carbon-copy shots from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft within the space of six minutes pushed 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 5 minutes, a gorgeous line break from Hull's James Bell permitted him to unselfishly set up Arthur to dive underneath the sticks and rating against the side his daddy 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 range for his very first Super League attempt in two years.

The Rhinos' discipline let them down when dissent towards referee Liam Moore made it possible for a kick within range, and Hardaker added 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 found McDonnell on the move to dot down in front of the visiting fans.

A spectacular diving catch from Miller then continued a flowing move as McDonnell aimed to get a second try in a couple of minutes, however he was 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 beside the sticks, and by the time Connor had added the additionals 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 penalised 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 securing the marker and Hardaker slotted over to level the match when more.

And Hull edged themselves back in front moments later when Hardaker kicked a fifth objective in front of the sticks.

The home side extended their lead when John Asiata's stunning grubber kick was collected 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 started an attempt to bring the match to within a transformed try - 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 declare triumph.

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

Hull FC boss John Cartwright told BBC Radio Humberside:

"They're an actually harmful side to bet.

"So, bit nervous going into the video game, but I understood 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 guts than usual and I believed we did that today.

"Effort-wise and grit-wise, we competed well. We did the essentials a lot much better than we've been doing, which's the structure of your game. We need to do that nine times out of 10 now."

Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:

"A little a reality-check isn't it? Basically, we're not as good as we believe we are. A few of that ill-discipline is not what I want our club to be about and become part of.

"It was pretty humiliating, a few of the discipline in the second half. A great deal of chaps simply wish to discuss the referee instead of doing their own job. Unsatisfactory.

"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 go back to training]

"What's changed? We worked out 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