Hull FC U18s 16 Leeds Rhinos U18s 22

Leeds Rhinos Under-18s’ unbeaten run in 2026 continued with a 22-16 triumph over Hull FC, but the young Rhinos were made to work for the result.

Injuries in the camp forced head coach Chev Walker into five changes from the side that beat Bradford in their last outing, but the visitors to the University of Hull made sure they got on the front foot early with a try inside the first ten minutes. Kai Irvine’s clever kick pinned Hull winger Rhys Yorke inside his own in-goal as the Rhinos began to make their mark on the contest, and a clever offload by Dacx Jones-Buchanan set Harvey Butterworth away to score the game’s opening points.

An enjoyable first half continued as Leeds took their chances for points, but Hull remained in the fight with a flurry of chances for the home side. Caleb Paleaaesina was unfortunate to knock on as the second rower drove hard for the try line, but Leeds responded with a break from Cobi Ellis that ended when a wild offload from Zak Lloyd was intercepted by Hull on their try line.

The Rhinos were quick to convert their next chance following a knock on by Yorke as a pass from Seth Marchant was on target as Jacob Hardy forced his way over the line to make the score 8-0.

Jacob Tooala was held up as the Rhinos attack continued to flow, before Tom Richardson finished off a break from Wade White in the corner to edge Leeds into a double-digit lead. Tooala wasn’t going to be denied a fourth try of the campaign as the centre showed great strength to fend away from Rio Kassim and plant the ball down and make the score 18-0 at the break.

Leeds’ first-half efforts proved important as a revival from Hull in the second half almost saw Francis Cummins’ side steal the win.

White had the best chance of extending the away side’s lead as the full back darted his way towards the line but was inevitably held up by desperate Hull defence. They were rewarded for that effort shortly after as Joshua Horne forced his way over from dummy half to begin a run of three consecutive scores.

Off the back of another Leeds attack that petered out with no points scored, Hull leapt into life with a break from Finlay Davies that ended in Kingsley Sharpe dotting the ball down. Josh Harding also got in on the scoring for the home side after Tyler-James Eccles’ break down the side line was finished moments later as the second rower crashed onto a short pass to beat Jack Mears and Zak Lloyd. Owen Bartle’s conversion made the score 18-16 as Leeds remained in the lead by a fine margin.

With an upset on the cards, both sides engaged their attacks to find the points that would decide the outcome. A half break by Tooala almost led to Connor Lawrie forcing his way to the line on his Academy debut, but the visitors had fortune on their side as a knock on by Paleaaesina gifted possession on the Hull try line. The chance was efficiently converted as Irvine and White combined for the Rhinos full back to beat Horne and slide in to score the game’s deciding try.

Buoyed by his fourth score of 2026, White looked to snatch a second score of the evening but couldn’t unlock Hull’s defence which stood firm. To their credit, the black and white’s kept the game interesting until the final seconds as a pass over the top from Sharpe should have seen winger Prigorkins score in the corner, but he was unable to reel the pass in as the Rhinos took away a 22-16 final score.

Teams

Hull FC

1. Tyler-James Eccles, 2. Kirils Prigorkins, 3. Preston Ward, 4. Rio Kassim, 5. Rhys Yorke, 6. Kingsley Sharpe, 7. Owen Bartle, 8. Charlie Cullen-Thomas, 9. Joshua Horne, 10. Logan Edwards, 11. Joshua Harding, 12. Caleb Paleaaesina, 13. Will Mathers

Subs: 14. Finlay Davies, 15. Jake Ivory, 16. Finley Wilson, 17. Thomas Cheshire (18^th Man: Ryan Wilkinson)

Tries: Horne, Sharpe, Harding

Goals: Bartle 2/3

Rhinos

1. Wade White, 2. Tom Richardson, 3. Jacob Hardy, 4. Jacob Tooala, 5. Sonny Hetherington, 6. Seth Marchant, 7. Kai Irvine, 8. Dacx Jones-Buchanan, 9. Harvey Butterworth, 10. Robin Smith, 11. Will Wilkinson, 12. Cobi Ellis, 13. Zak Lloyd

Subs: 14. Jack Mears, 15. Connor Lawrie, 16. Evan Jones, 17. Alfie Steel (18th Man – Noah Lunn)

Tries: Butterworth, Hardy, Richardson, Tooala, White

Goals: Lloyd 3/4, Tooala 0/1