As the Betfred Super League season returns to action after the Challenge Cup break, the latest Countdown to Kick Off feature returns to profile Leeds' home clash against Hull FC on Friday night.

If you're after key stats, facts and head-to-heads, both teams will have their season's broken down to find what makes them both competitors for a top six spot in the league table and what match ups could yield success at full time.

Find out more:

Team Breakdowns

With the halfway mark in sight for the 2025 season, Leeds and Hull fans know plenty about their sides after ten rounds.

Only Hull's noisy neighbours at Hull KR have conceded less points than the Rhinos in 2025 (averaging 11 points per game). That's a contrast to last season when the club were conceding 18.5 points per game and only scoring an average of 18 - they now score over 19 points per game on average.

Continuing on the try scoring front, Jake Connor's kicking game has been used to full advantage as the Rhinos have scored the most tries from kicks than any other side this year. Jack Sinfield's try against Wigan was a particular highlight (thanks to Ryan Hall's role in the score), and Ash Handley's try against Hull KR last time out was as a result of a kick. 

Despite falling out of form recently, Hull's strength has been their out on their edges, particularly in the left centre channel. Lewis Martin's try scoring - which there is more below - has been a catalyst in this area, as has the growth of Davy Litten, who recently signed an extra two-year deal with the club, as well as relatively new faces Will Pryce and Cade Cust, the latter is just behind captain Aidan Sezer in try assists this year (Sezer has 11, Cust has 4).

Hull's attack has ranked around the season's average for the competition, making 41 metres per set (the 2025 average is 41.8). Martin, Jordan Rapana and Tom Briscoe lead the Hull backs, who account for 47% of Hull's average metres per game, whilst Herman Ese'ese and John Asiata are the leading forwards in metres, carries and post-contact metres. On the other side of the ball in defence, the Black and Whites have the third least amount of tackles with 3,106. That's 115 less than the Rhinos heading into round eleven.

The clubs are at opposite ends of the scale when it comes to missed tackles as Hull have missed the most and Leeds have missed the least. Leeds have also prided themselves on their penalties and set restarts conceded as the side have the second least in both metrics across the Super League competition.

Three Key Player Head-to-Heads

Riley Lumb vs Lewis Martin

A seventh try of the season last time out at Magic Weekend saw Leeds' lightning winger Riley Lumb continue his dream 2025 season, and the 20-year old looks to build on his form so far when he goes up against another rising winger in Lewis Martin on Friday night.

Since filling the boots of Maika Sivo after the Fijian's early-season injury, Lumb has been one of the first names on the Leeds team sheet as he leads the side in tries after moving into the first team permanently during the 2024 season. He does more than just try scoring too as he leads the club with eight line breaks (which is also tenth overall in the Super League competition), has the most carries ahead of the likes of Ash Handley and Jake Connor, and has two kick try assists alongside Handley and Newman.

Martin also burst onto the scene in 2024 despite Hull's struggle to score tries. The West Hull winger accounted for nine of Hull's 61 tries in all competitions and has already topped his 2024 tally with 13 tries inside 13 games in 2025, including a highlight seven-game spell that saw him score nine tries.

Like Lumb, he is also the side's leading ball carrier with 178 (19 ahead of Lumb) and metre maker with a total of 1,559. In his last outing against Huddersfield at Magic Weekend, he contributed 124 metres from 17 carries and added one linebreak and one tackle bust.

Harry Newman vs Jordan Rapana

The outside backs battle continues as Harry Newman and Jordan Rapana could also be keys to victory for their sides in round eleven.

Newman hasn't missed a game in any competition for the Rhinos as he's made a strong start to his 2025 campaign with Leeds. The homegrown talent is in season number nine in blue and amber and this season is the first time that he hasn't missed a match in the league or the cup as he's solidified his place in the centres. 

Newman leads the Rhinos line when it comes to offloads as no Leeds player has offloaded more than him. In a competitive set of backs that are dominating the metres charts at the minute, he ranks amongst Leeds top five players for metres, carries and tackle breaks too and is joined by Riley Lumb as the only players to have all 800 game minutes under their belts inside ten rounds.

Kiwi international Jordan Rapana looks to finish his career on a high with the Black and Whites as the 35-year-old enters year one of a two-year contract at the MKM Stadium.

The outside back adds speed and experience to what has been a youthful backline at times this year, bring with him 16 caps and 11 international tries for New Zealand, as well as over 200 NRL appearances and 111 tries. Along with Aidan Sezer, Rapana was given his first experience of professional Rugby League under John Cartwright at Gold Coast Titans, so it was no surprise that he answered when Cartwright was assembling his 2025 roster. 

Statistically this year, Rapana ranks as one of the Hull's best attacking backs with the second most metres (1,224), carries (140) and is second out of the whole team in tackle breaks behind Herman Ese'ese. His only downside is the number of errors and penalties he's given away, as he ranks inside the top five for both metrics compared to the rest of the Super League competition.

Jarrod O'Connor vs Amir Bourouh

Jarrod O'Connor continues in Leeds' leading hooking role in the absence of Andy Ackers, and the homegrown product is only second to his Hull FC counterpart in leading the tackle count amongst hookers in the Super League competition.

This year, O'Connor is one of the leading hookers in attacking touches to get the Rhinos moving downfield and is eighth in the competition at total run metres with 195 (Edwin Ipape leads the way with 506). It's his defensive efforts that lead Rhinos this year - only James McDonnell has more tackles to his name than O'Connor after ten games.

Developed through the ranks at Wigan before finding regular game time at Salford in 2024, Amir Bourouh has transferred his skills to Hull FC's cause this season and is particularly leading the side's defesive efforts.

The Huddersfield-born player made his debut for the Warriors back in 2019 and found himself as Salford's first choice hooker as the Red Devils finished fourth in 2024. Now in John Cartwright's Hull system, he has the most tackles out of any player at the club (358) and has accrued the sixth most tackles by any player in the Super League competition. The closest Leeds player to him is James McDonnell, who is three tackles behind with 355.

Bourouh is also one of the competition's leading hookers with a total of 268 metres from dummy half, averaging almost 30 a game.

What the history says...

Tomorrow's game is the 67th meeting between Leeds and Hull FC in the Super League era and looking back at the history between the two clubs so far, one fanbase has been the happier of the two.

The Rhinos have come away with a win on 46 occasions, compared to Hull's 19 wins over Leeds, since the sides first met in 1998. Over 20 years, Hull only won 13 times in all meetings against the Rhinos, who held an unbeaten streak of ten games between 2002 and 2006, as well as a more recent nine-game run without defeat from 2015 to 2018. This week's home team have outscored the Airlie Birds too by a difference of 539 points - their largest win coming in last year's ten try demolition.

Despite being on the wrong end of the result during the early years, Hull found refuge at AMT Headingley between 2019 and 2023 when kept Leeds winless in front of a home crowd. That has shifted again in the last two meetings, which have been won by Leeds, but will the dynamic shift again?

Don't miss Friday night rugby league action at AMT Headingley

Match tickets start at £25 for adults, £20 for concessions and £13 for juniors and are available online at tickets.therhinos.co.uk or call the ticket office on 0371 423 1315. This week's game also includes the Varsity match between Leeds Beckett and University of Leeds pre-match too so fans can fill their boots with rugby action.

Tickets are also available to purchase from Leeds Rhinos Ticket Office at AMT Headingley Stadium but check opening times before travelling.