Hull KR ran out winners over Hull FC once again.
The 250th derby between Hull KR and Hull FC.
Whether it was Roger, Ronnie, Clive, Phil, Mick, Yeamo, or Gentleman John, the Hull derby has always delivered, and on its 250th instalment this Good Friday, it wasn’t going to rip up its script.
With passions ignited, pride on show, and grit in abundance, both sides went hammer and tongs, as per the norm in this part of the world, with the bragging rights and the local superiority remaining in East Hull after Hull KR’s 24-6 victory over Hull FC.
The Robins proved to be the stronger side once again. They had all the early territory and landed the early blows, but Hull stuck in there and made it a contest. Eventually, the quality of Willie Peters’ outfit showed, with the head coach insistent the build-up wasn’t about his confirmed exit to the NRL at the end of the year and instead all about the team.
And it was the team that came up trumps, with Rovers enjoying their seventh successive derby victory over the Black and Whites, who – despite losing John Asiata, Joe Batchelor and Arthur Romano – to injury – gave it their all but ultimately came up short.
Benefitting from some team continuity, Rovers’ only change to their line-up was Karl Lawton, who came in for Noah Booth. Meanwhile, Hull were dealt another injury blow to Jake Arthur during the week, with the half-back picking up a calf issue in training. Aidan Sezer and Cade Cust returned to the side, as did Batchelor, who lasted 20 minutes before coming off.
A physical battle from the off, Hull survived some early pressure but eventually they cracked. Rovers kept asking the question, and they got their reward, with Jack Broadbent taking Mikey Lewis’ inside pass to open the scoring.
The Robins got into field position again after a penalty and they struck once more on the last tackle through Oliver Gildart, who evaded the Hull cover defence to stretch out and score. That put the home side 10-0 to the good, but it was the Black and Whites who struck next. A delicious Aidan Sezer cut-out pass found Tom Briscoe, and the veteran winger finished superbly to put Hull back in it before the break.
The start of the second half was crucial. Hull thought it went their way as Lewis Martin took Davy Litten’s offload to score, but the video referee, after several replays, ruled that the winger lost control of the ball at the last second and overturned the try.
Hull’s woe was compounded as Asiata limped off the field, with the loose forward in a bad way after a heavy contact. He didn’t return.
The game then struggled to open up as both sides tried to get on top, with a physical clash continuing to play out. It needed an injection from somewhere and Jez Litten was able to provide it, back into the action for his second stint and following up Tyrone May’s break to score under the posts.
Hull – who also lost Romano late on – got the ball back from the kick-off and had more than one chance to hit back, but Rovers held firm. It was the Robins who then sealed victory, with Joe Burgess scoring out wide after Gildart’s pass.
Burgess then added the gloss late on, scoring again, and that was that, with Peters’ outfit – who loved handing out several reminders as to who holds the Super League crown right now – owning this part of the world once again and, in terms of their 2026 campaign, taking another big step towards normality. As you were.
Teams
Rovers Starting XIII: 14. Jack Broadbent, 2. Tom Davies, 3. Peta Hiku, 4. Oliver Gildart, 5. Joe Burgess, 6. Mikey Lewis, 7. Tyrone May, 8. Sauaso Sue, 9. Jez Litten, 10. Tom Amone, 11. Dean Hadley, 12. James Batchelor, 13. Elliot Minchella.
Interchange: 15. Sam Luckley, 16. Jai Whitbread, 18. Jack Brown, 19. Karl Lawton. 18th Man: Noah Booth
Hull Starting XIII: 24. Logan Moy; 19. Tom Briscoe, 21. Arthur Romano, 3. Davy Litten, 5. Lewis Martin; 4. Zak Hardaker, 7. Aidan Sezer; 18. Ligi Sao, 9. Amir Bourouh, 10. Harvie Hill; 11. Joe Batchelor, 15. James Bell; 13. John Asiata.
Interchange: 14. Cade Cust, 16. Sam Lisone, 22. Connor Bailey, 25. Matty Laidlaw. 18th Man: 27. Callum Kemp
Scorers
Rovers Tries: Broadbent, Gildart, Litten, Burgess 2. Goals: Lewis 2/5
Hull Tries: Briscoe. Goals: Hardaker 1/1
Scoring System: 6-0, 10-0, 10-6, HT, 16-6, 20-6, 24-6, FT
Referee: Aaron Moore. Video referee: Liam Rush
Attendance: TBC