A tough trip to the MKM Stadium saw Leeds Rhinos suffer a 24-16 defeat to Hull FC in round five of the Betfred Super League, despite tries from James McDonnell and Brodie Croft.

The Rhinos came back from 14-2 down to lead by two points at the break, but couldn’t find a point in the second half as Hull FC claimed their second win of the Betfred Super League season.

Back in league action after bowing out of the Betfred Challenge Cup, the Rhinos made three changes for the trip east. Brodie Croft’s return from injury saw the half-back join Chris Hankinson in stepping straight into the matchday team in place of Ryan Hall and George Brown. Croft hadn’t featured for the Rhinos since returning from the Vegas win over Hull KR but slotted in with Jake Connor on his return, whilst Hankinson partnered Harry Newman on the wing.

A change on the bench saw Jack Bird handed his club debut after signing last month. The NSW state of origin representative had been made to wait for a first outing in blue and amber but joined Cooper Jenkins, Tom Holroyd and Jarrod O’Connor amongst the Rhinos substitutes at the MKM Stadium.

Fortune favoured the Rhinos in the first 40 minutes as they showed great attitude to battle a strong first half from the Black and Whites. An initial knock on from Hankinson looked to put the away side on their heels inside the opening exchanges, but a wise captain’s challenge from the Rhinos forced a change of decision as Amir Bourouh was charged with stripping Leeds’ milestone man of the ball. Working towards the try line with good work from trio Ash Handley, Mikolaj Oledzki and Cameron Smith, Brodie Croft produced a clever grubber kick that drew an offside penalty out of the home side and Jake Connor stepped up to convert the penalty goal attempt.

Back-to-back scores for John Cartwright’s side swung momentum in favour of Hull as a disappointing period tested Leeds’ resolve, especially after the Cup defeat to Wakefield.

Off the back of a quick play of the ball from Ligi Sao, John Asiata and Jake Arthur shifted the ball quickly to James Bell, who found space to break through into the backfield. With only Lachie Miller to beat, Bell’s inside pass found Arthur for a try against his dad’s side.

A mistake by Miller led to a second score for the Black and Whites as Sao crashed over minutes later. The Leeds full-back’s kick off sailed over the dead-ball line to gift Hull a penalty and possession in dangerous territory, and Cartwright’s side wasted little time in taking the chance for points as Bourouh darted out of dummy half and offloaded for Sao to score from close range. A dissent call against Leeds further frustrated the Rhinos away support as Hardaker took the opportunity to add two more points with a penalty goal to make the score 14-2 to Hull after 20 minutes.

In need of an opportunity switch from continued defence into attack, Leeds took full advantage of a knock on by Cade Cust to get a try on the board. Hull’s half back couldn’t hold onto an impromptu kick by Harry Newman as Leeds began a new set 20 metres out from the try line, and after a move to Sivo’s wing was quickly shut down by Hull’s edge defence, the Rhinos winger fired a wild offload to Miller, who’s testing kick in behind the line was pounced on by McDonnell.

The Leeds second rower looked certain for a second try as the Rhinos continued to fight to get back in the game, but good defence from the home side stopped McDonnell agonisingly short of the line. With the wind in their sails, the away side found the game-levelling try courtesy of another kick that caught Hull out. Miller and Handley combined to keep the ball alive, before the Rhinos skipper dabbed a kick ahead for the on-rushing Croft to plant down. Connor was good from the kicking tee to make the score 14-all.

With half-time in sight, Leeds thought they had a chance for a third try of the game as Hankinson broke free down the wing, only to be stopped in his tracks by a desperate Davy Litten tackle. Referee Liam Moore had spotted a late hit on Newman in the build-up and awarded a penalty, which Connor sent through the uprights to give the visitors a two-point lead at the break.

That half time advantage dissipated inside two minutes of the second half as a penalty against Sivo saw Hardaker opt to add a second penalty attempt of the game. The former Leeds player converted a third shot at goal four minutes later as McDonnell was penalised for holding down Sao as the Rhinos found themselves in a tough spot early in the second period.

Similar to the first half, Hull compounded Leeds’ defensive problems as Davy Litten grabbed a third crucial try. Lewis Martin’s initial break set Hull up as the winger was dragged down by Miller short of the try line, and after Sam Lisone and Jake Arthur asked questions of the Leeds line, a kick from Asiata was claimed by Litten ahead of the retreating Hankinson. Hardaker continued a successful afternoon from the kicking tee to make the score 24-16.

The Rhinos were on the ropes but continued to keep themselves in the contest. Miller came up with a defensive stop to hold Cust up over the try line, before a break by the Hull half back finished with Brad Fash going over the line. The decision was reviewed further by video referee Chris Kendall, who denied the try for a knock on in the build-up to keep Leeds in the game.

As a dramatic climax built with ten minutes to go, a scoring chance for Leeds came and went as Briscoe was unable to take a towering kick from Connor, but the Rhinos couldn’t make the possession close to the Hull try line count as a loose pass from Miller was taken away by Briscoe. A penalty goal attempt from Connor also hit the post as the afternoon went from bad to worse for Arthur’s side, who suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in 2026.

Teams

Hull FC

3. Zak Hardaker, 19. Tom Briscoe, 21. Arthur Romano, 4. Davy Litten, 5. Lewis Martin, 14. Cade Cust, 6. Jake Arthur, 10. Harvie Hill, 9. Amir Bourouh, 18. Ligi Sao, 15. James Bell, 22. Connor Bailey, 13. John Asiata

Subs: 27. Callum Kemp, 23. Brad Fash, 25. Matty Laidlaw, 16. Sam Lisone (18^th Man – 24. Logan Moy)

Tries: Arthur (7), Sao (11), Litten (51)

Goals: Hardaker 3/3

Penalty: Hardaker 3/3

Rhinos

1. Lachie Miller, 2. Maika Sivo, 4. Ash Handley (C), 3. Harry Newman, 14. Chris Hankinson, 6. Brodie Croft, 7. Jake Connor, 8. Mikolaj Oledzki, 23. Danny Levi, 13. Keenan Palasia, 11. Kallum Watkins, 12. James McDonnell, 17. Cameron Smith

Subs: 9. Jarrod O’Connor, 10. Tom Holroyd, 15. Cooper Jenkins, 33. Jack Bird (18^th Man – 16. Ethan O’Neill)

Tries: McDonnell (25), Croft (31)

Goals: Connor 2/2

Penalty: Connor 2/3