Leigh Leopards v Hull FC teams as Josh Charnley decision made amid two FC changes

Hull FC head coach John Cartwright has made two changes to his Hull FC side to take on Leigh Leopards this evening. Leigh and Hull go head to head at Leigh Sports Village with both sides looking to bounce back from defeat last time out in Super League.

Leigh fell to defeat at Wigan Warriors but they know a win over the Black and Whites would see them move back to within three points of top spot, at least temporarily. A last minute Ryan Hall try broke Hull’s hearts at Leeds Rhinos last Friday and they’ll be pushing to end what has become a four-game losing streak.

Cartwright is without Jordan Rapana, with the back suffering a head injury in that game at Headingley and that prompts a slight change to the backline with Tom Briscoe starting for the first time this month. Briscoe was the man to replace Rapana off the bench last week and his inclusion in the starting XIII is expected to say the least.

The other change comes on the bench with Brad Fash surprisingly left out of the squad. Those changes open the door for Denive Balmforth and Matty Laidlaw to come onto the bench and the youngsters will be keen to pick up some valuable minutes this evening.

Adrian Lam has sprung a surprise, too, with Josh Charnley moving from the wing to the bench. Lam spoke about Charnley’s uncertain future earlier this week and the winger has now dropped out of the XIII in favour of Keanan Brand, who has looked the part when he’s had the opportunity to play this season.

Ben McNamara replaces Gareth O’Brien in the halves, as expected, while Alec Tuitavake is included after avoiding a ban for his suspected crusher tackle last time out at the Brick Community Stadium.

Leigh Leopards v Hull FC teams

Leigh Leopards: Bailey Hodgson; Darnell McIntosh, Tesi Niu, Umyla Hanley, Keanan Brand; Lachlan Lam, Ben McNamara; Joe Ofahengaue, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern; Owen Trout, Ethan O’Neill; Isaac Liu.

Bench: Alec Tuitavake, Jack Hughes, Matt Davis, Josh Charnley.

Hull FC: Will Pryce; Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin; Cade Cust, Aidan Sezer; Herman Ese’ese, Amir Bourouh, Liam Knight; Zak Hardaker, Ed Chamberlain; John Asiata.

Bench: Jack Ashworth, Sam Eseh, Matty Laidlaw, Denive Balmforth

📰 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🐆
Your Leopards team for today’s Round 12 game against Hull FC #betheroar pic.twitter.com/LBVz0MnI7A

— Leigh Leopards (@LeighLeopardsRL) May 22, 2025

Our R12 team news is confirmed 📋🔒

Read 👉 https://t.co/OjIzWnUtyG

⚫️⚪️ #COYH | https://t.co/69MwiDLr4u pic.twitter.com/WvbPElTdIg

— Hull FC (@hullfcofficial) May 22, 2025