Arthur drop goal hands Hull FC late Super League win at Stade Gilbert Brutus
Jake Arthur's drop goal in the final five minutes secured a comeback Super League victory for Hull FC over Catalans Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus on 22 August 2026. The win came against former coach John Cartwright and his Catalans side.
Hull took an early lead through tries from Logan Moy and Lewis Martin, scored in the third and 13th minutes respectively, with Aidan Sezer converting after Moy's score. Moy's try followed a pass from James Bell, and Martin's score came after Ethan O'Neill knocked back Arthur's kick for Arthur Romano to pass to Martin, who scored against the Dragons for the fourth successive game. Sezer also kicked two early penalties, awarded after a head-high challenge by Alrix Da Costa and a high tackle by Tommy Makinson on Harvey Barron.
Catalans responded in the first half and seized control in the second, with Charlie Staines touching down under the posts on 18 minutes and Toby Sexton later beating two tackles before feeding Kruise Leeming for a converted try. A potential Hull try from Davy Litten was ruled out for not grounding the ball, and Catalans then extended their lead after Leeming produced an outside-of-the-boot kick that Edenn Rogers-Smith finished, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet added a penalty, and Leo Darrelatour collected a loose pass and scored in the right corner.
Hull regrouped in the closing stages, with prop Harvie Hill producing a solo effort in the 63rd minute and Sezer scoring five minutes later before converting his own try to level the scores. Jake Arthur then landed the decisive drop goal inside the final five minutes to secure the victory for the Black and Whites.
Scoring summary: Hull FC — Tries: Moy, Martin, Hill, Sezer; Goals: Sezer 5. Catalans — Tries: Staines, Leeming, Rogers-Smith, Darrelatour; Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 5. Drop goal: Arthur.
Hull interim head coach Andy Last told Sky Sports: "It was a nail-biting game, it went right down to the wire. I'm just really proud for the playing group."
He added: "I spoke all week about showing our personality and our performance when it gets tough and to make sure you answer those questions with your effort and your actions. To go down like we did in the second half and then find the extra gear when we needed it, with that composed play by Jake Arthur at the end, was great. Jake's been outstanding and to come up with a big moment like that shows what a composed player he is."
Team line-ups — Catalans: Staines; Darrelatour, Cotric, Aispuro-Bichet, Makinson; Sexton, Dodd; Allen, Leeming, Navarrete, Garcia, Rogers-Smith, Da Costa. Interchanges: Bousquet, Condon, Laguerre, Descalzi; Lis. Hull FC: Moy; Barron, Litten, Romano, Martin; Arthur, Sezer; Ese'ese, Bourouh, Hill, Batchelor, O'Neill, Bell. Interchanges: Briscoe, Hutchinson, Lisone, Sao; Salabio.
The victory was Hull's second in 10 Super League games.