23 Jul: Hull FC v Wigan Warriors KO 8pm (TV)

[Wellsy4HullFC]

My biggest fear before tonight's game was that the players would be in exactly that frame of mind. The lack of intensity in defence, particularly goal line defence, showed that the team just weren't ready for it mentally. You could tell by Wigan's approach early on that they were well aware that it would the case too. Pretty much anybody would have beaten Hull tonight.

That was my fear at the start of the week. Everyone talking about the pressure being off because we're in the top eight. Made me think "What's the bloody point then?" The players played like it didn't matter as much and that's what they got. It did matter. It's basically ended our season that defeat.

Soft team with no desire.

[Old Frightful]

That was my fear at the start of the week. Everyone talking about the pressure being off because we're in the top eight. Made me think "What's the bloody point then?" The players played like it didn't matter as much and that's what they got. It did matter. It's basically ended our season that defeat.

Soft team with no desire.

Might put that on RLFans.

 

Seems the thing to do these days.

[Saint Toppy]

Hull's season is over and the players know it (same as Catalans).

To make the 4 Hull will have to win all 7 of their games and rely on someone like Hudds to lose at least 4 games - Its just not going to happen !

Its clear that its already just a 6 horse race for the top 4.

[Exiled Wiganer]

Some great play from some young British talent last night. Burgess is a major talent, and Williams looked back to something like again. I also rate Sutton very highly though there are so many young British forwards that he may never play internationally.

I thought FC again showed they have plenty of talent. I didn't think it was effort so much as execution that let them down.

[Old Frightful]

We need a clear out and a much more professional attitude throughout the club.

Hull have opened talks with Steve Michaels about offering him a deal for next year. That alone tells me about the ambition of my club.

Bloody hopeless.

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

It won't be a popular comment, but Hull look like a side who won their big game last week.

 

I posted a similar comment on the FC v Rovers thread last week.  Whoever won that game effectively ended their season.  The losers had something realistic to play for.

[rugbymac]

Earlier in the season I posted that they should save everyone the time and effort and just have a playoff between Wigan, Saints and Leeds. It's a good job the other teams get no away support and very few home supporters or even more money and fuel would have been wasted.

[Saint Toppy]

Earlier in the season I posted that they should save everyone the time and effort and just have a playoff between Wigan, Saints and Leeds. It's a good job the other teams get no away support and very few home supporters or even more money and fuel would have been wasted.

Better still just let Saints, Wigan & Leeds go and play in the NRL during the regular SL season. They can then come back later in the year where the rest of the SL teams will have fought it out to decide who joins those 3 in the SL play-offs and the CCSF .

 

Our best 3 teams get to play every week against other top teams and the others get to compete against other teams of a similar standing which gives everyone a chance

 

Winning format all round 

[The Parksider]

Better still just let Saints, Wigan & Leeds go and play in the NRL during the regular SL season. 

 

I thought you abandoned this idea after losing the first game 0-39 to Souths at home?

[Hvy wg]

Earlier in the season I posted that they should save everyone the time and effort and just have a playoff between Wigan, Saints and Leeds. 

Yep... at least in the other years, a team finishing 7 or 8 could save the season by putting an all-in effort and making semi finals or a finale but this year... This is a competition made for the very big clubs as said before. 

SL is just about Wigan, Saints and Leeds. I can't see Huddersfield and Cas giving them a hard time.

The fact that Saints are still 3rd despite having a whole squad injured and a forward in the halves shows that nothing really matters in SL. There are 3 or 4 teams (in a lucky year) that can compete, the others are just making up the numbers.

 

[Exiled Wiganer]

If FC are considered a very long shot with 22 points, if Cas beat Wire, then that'll be 3 teams in the same boat? Sandow may be coming over for the longest pre-season of all time.

[Saint Toppy]

Yep... at least in the other years, a team finishing 7 or 8 could save the season by putting an all-in effort and making semi finals or a finale but this year... This is a competition made for the very big clubs as said before. 

 

Or put another way - the old system allowed teams to either coast through the regular season (Leeds not bothered about finishing 5th) and allowed distinctly mediocre teams finishing 7th & 8th to be rewarded by having a shot at the title with just a few good end of season performances.

 

The new system is a far fairer way of deciding the champions:

It punishes under-performing teams by dropping them down into the middle 8's and making them fight for their SL survival.

It doesn't reward medicre performances by having the whole season points tally taken into account in deciding the final places.

It only rewards the top teams with a shot at the title (probably also eliminating the boring blow-out games we get most years in the 1st round of the play-offs)

[terrywebbisgod]

Or put another way - the old system allowed teams to either coast through the regular season (Leeds not bothered about finishing 5th) and allowed distinctly mediocre teams finishing 7th & 8th to be rewarded by having a shot at the title with just a few good end of season performances.

 

The new system is a far fairer way of deciding the champions:

It punishes under-performing teams by dropping them down into the middle 8's and making them fight for their SL survival.

It doesn't reward medicre performances by having the whole season points tally taken into account in deciding the final places.

It only rewards the top teams with a shot at the title (probably also eliminating the boring blow-out games we get most years in the 1st round of the play-offs)

Ah,that old chestnut.

[Hvy wg]

I fear that SL will soon be too one sided for the new fans. Top teams are always the same, they have the biggest budget, they can have the best players because of it and because they're always near a title and so on with staff.

With this system, players in "mediocre" teams have no hope to get a title, the very good players will be out to NRL (ask why Garcia, Whitehead and Taia are going to NRL, when you can't have a title in SL, you get out as soon as you can) or to the Top 3 teams like bullets. 

What we will get is a Top 3 (or 4) even more powerful, and "mediocre" teams even more "mediocre". 

[Saint Toppy]

I fear that SL will soon be too one sided for the new fans. Top teams are always the same, they have the biggest budget, they can have the best players because of it and because they're always near a title and so on with staff.

With this system, players in "mediocre" teams have no hope to get a title, the very good players will be out to NRL (ask why Garcia, Whitehead and Taia are going to NRL, when you can't have a title in SL, you get out as soon as you can) or to the Top 3 teams like bullets. 

What we will get is a Top 3 (or 4) even more powerful, and "mediocre" teams even more "mediocre". 

Hull get the crowds, they play in a top stadium, and they have the finances to buy the top players. In essence they have all the ingredients to be a top team yet are consistently mid to low table each year

Whats you explanation for this ?

[DeadShotKeen]

Hull get the crowds, they play in a top stadium, and they have the finances to buy the top players. In essence they have all the ingredients to be a top team yet are consistently mid to low table each year

Whats you explanation for this ?

 

They get about 10-11K since HKR came back. Not enough to get the really top players when you have Leeds, Saints and Wigan (and Bradford again before too long) getting many more.

 

Would question "have the finances to buy the top players" in any case when they've just merged their well-performing academy with their nearest rivals, which would suggest to me that they're seriously skint.

 

They'll forever be a middle of the pack kind of side in this new era I'm afraid. The only hope for RL in the City of Hull is a merged side of all the talents.

[DeadShotKeen]

I fear that SL will soon be too one sided for the new fans. Top teams are always the same, they have the biggest budget, they can have the best players because of it and because they're always near a title and so on with staff.

With this system, players in "mediocre" teams have no hope to get a title, the very good players will be out to NRL (ask why Garcia, Whitehead and Taia are going to NRL, when you can't have a title in SL, you get out as soon as you can) or to the Top 3 teams like bullets. 

What we will get is a Top 3 (or 4) even more powerful, and "mediocre" teams even more "mediocre". 

 

Spot on.

 

And this was all painfully obvious when the new format was signed off 2 years ago.

 

How on Earth did we allow our sport to be so hopelessly mismanaged?

[chuffer]

crikey, a 5-8 place team puts in a less than spirited performance in the last game of the regular season and everyone's despondent about the new system, even before the Super 8/Middle 8's have actually started.....maybe give it a chance and evaluate it all once it's finished?

[Ullman]

I posted a similar comment on the FC v Rovers thread last week.  Whoever won that game effectively ended their season.  The losers had something realistic to play for.

I'm much happier being on our side of the split.

[mickhornet]

What a dull game, Time Hemmings and Stevo went.The darts was much more entertaining.

[Roy Boy]

They get about 10-11K since HKR came back. Not enough to get the really top players when you have Leeds, Saints and Wigan (and Bradford again before too long) getting many more.

 

Would question "have the finances to buy the top players" in any case when they've just merged their well-performing academy with their nearest rivals, which would suggest to me that they're seriously skint.

 

They'll forever be a middle of the pack kind of side in this new era I'm afraid. The only hope for RL in the City of Hull is a merged side of all the talents.

I think you'll find it's Mr Hudgell that wanted rid of the KR academy as he no longer wants to fund it!

[Exiled Wiganer]

What a dull game, Time Hemmings and Stevo went.The darts was much more entertaining.

 

What did you think of the Burgess try? Did you like Bowen's first from Tomkins' inside ball.

In any game of league there are always gems.

[Ullman]

Hull's season is over and the players know it (same as Catalans).

To make the 4 Hull will have to win all 7 of their games and rely on someone like Hudds to lose at least 4 games - Its just not going to happen !

Its clear that its already just a 6 horse race for the top 4.

Our season's over because we won't make the top four? We knew we weren't going to make the top four before a ball was dropped.

 

Seven games coming up against the best teams in the competition. I'm looking forward to it.

[Ullman]

Not patronising at all - they got very close and, on another night, would have got a couple more. I'm not saying they were good enough to win tonight, because Wigan were better in attack and defence, but the score difference is harsh.

I didn't take it as patronising. Hull played some good football when they had the ball and could have had another two or three tries.

 

On the downside, Hull didn't want to play without the ball and Wigan could have had sixty if they hadn't come up with a string of cheap errors in one spell in the second half. It was like watching unopposed rugby when Wigan got in Hull's 20.

[Ullman]

We need a clear out and a much more professional attitude throughout the club.

Hull have opened talks with Steve Michaels about offering him a deal for next year. That alone tells me about the ambition of my club.

Bloody hopeless.

Oh I don't know, mate. The club's not a total shambles. The Academy seems to be very well run now.

 

Oh hang on...