Hull FC 20-34 Hull KR: Rovers fight from 12 points behind to claim Super League derby victory and move back into playoff spots

24.07.2026, 02:24 skysports.com

Defending Super League champions Hull KR moved back into the playoff positions following a 34-20 comeback derby victory at Hull FC from 12 points behind.

Hull FC, who had lost eight derbies in a row heading into this one, started superbly to score twice within the opening eight minutes through Joe Batchelor and Davy Litten for a 12-0 lead.

Yet, Rovers battled back to level by half-time following tries from Tom Amone and Arthur Mourgue.

The Black and Whites briefly led again at 14-12 in the second half via the boot of Zak Hardaker, but a try from Jack Broadbent and penalty from Mourgue soon put the Robins six points ahead.

The match then swung on the next try with 12 minutes to play; Hull FC seemingly ready to score down the right, but Joe Burgess pinching an intercept to race nearly 80 metres down the field for Hull KR's fourth.

Mourgue added another penalty to stretch the lead further, with Jake Arthur's late try for Hull FC academic in the end as Jordan Dezaria forced his way over for another Hull KR effort late in the game.

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Hull FC coach Andy Last told Sky Sports:

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"That was in our grasp. Started the game really well. Got to 12-0. The last 15 minutes of the first half, we started to get a bit of ascendancy in the ruck, but then conceded a couple of soft tries.

"In the second half, we couldn't get out of our half. Hull KR are very good at suffocating field position. We got an opportunity with 15 minutes to go.

"We didn't show enough patience to keep them camped on their end, and the Burgess try was a back-breaker. Got to give credit to Hull KR, they were the better team.

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"We controlled large parts of that game in the first half really well. But the momentum went in the ruck.

"They started to get a little bit of speed, Jez Litten; no surprise he got man of the match. An outstanding player. He dominated large parts of the game for Hull KR, but there's a lesson there for us."

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters told Sky Sports:

"That was a relieving victory but naturally, after the start that could have got ugly, but they showed a lot of fight.

"If anyone questioned our fight before the game, that's what I was most proud of. 12-12 at half-time, yeah it wasn't perfect but I wanted to see some fight from the group and they certainly showed that.

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"You're not calm as a coach during the game. Where we're at as a club, this is all new to us.

"Doing what we did last year, we're in a different position, where teams have hunted us. We find ourselves outside of the six, it's new territory but a great challenge.

"We'll learn a lot about ourselves and the club will at the back end of the year. We want to review it then, not now, we've got a lot of fight left.

"There's no disconnection. When I'm talking about disconnect, it's about things that we do on the field sometimes. One thing I'm strong about is being connected. Connected teams win, simple as that. If we weren't connected, we don't come back to win that game tonight."

Player of the match Jez Litten told Sky Sports:

"Always special to play in derbies. It wasn't the prettiest of games but we stuck in there and turned up for each other and I'm happy we got another derby winner.

"It was good the way we did it. We went 12 points behind and showed that resilience. We've had a tough couple of weeks; it only matters to us what we speak about between those four walls of the dressing room.

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"We showed that all tonight. We're still the champion team. And we're coming into the business end of the year. Tonight just showed that, we're still the champion team and a lot of teams want to knock us off.

"We're not the full package yet and we have a lot to improve on. We're going to be humble about it and work on our game next week."

Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+