: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:55 pm  

knocker norton wrote:

Cullen keeps highlighting G Hornes defence close to the line doesnt he?

He picked on both Richard and Graeme as scoring some good tries but also being at fault. Yeamo's read for Clubbs try was poor from a GB centre too.

Still think G Horne has to keep hold of that centre shirt though, dont see Whiting taking it off him just yet. (think briscoe will when Raynor is back though, and if not Hall may when motu is back)

: Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:08 pm  

I have to say, I'm one of those who is negative, and has been for the majority of the season despite wins. I think those who slag people like me off are under the mentality that winning= ok, losing= nay ok. Although I like it when we win games, thats not the be all and end all for me.
Generally, I'm happy when I leave a game if I feel the players have played consistantly to their potential over 80 minutes and have tried their hearts out, allowing for the fact that you will generally get the odd game where this doesnt exactly happen. The Catalans game this season is the only time when I feel this has happened, so 6 games in 7 it hasn't which to me is not the 'odd game.'
I'm the type of person that looks at the bigger picture. I think about what types of teams win trophies. These teams are the teams that are consistant for 80 minutes a game, for the majority of a league campaign permitting they have players of sufficient quality. We aren't the best team in the league but I expect us to have a chance and at the moment I look at our performances and feel that no matter where we finish, the way we play, the effort etc, we will win nothing again.
We aren't consistant, in terms of the 80 minutes and over the course of a season, spell of games etc. We haven't had the latter since 2004. We came close in 2006 when Sharp took over but the next season proved it was a false dawn. We should have killed Wigan (the worse team I have seen us play since Leigh 2005), Bradford, Huddersfield and arguably Castleford off. We were very poor in patches against Celtic too and looked very unconvincing. We were terrible over 80 minutes full stop against Quins, and then the game I am pleased with against Catalans.
I wouldn't care if we had a crap team (in the short term anyway), I wouldn't care if we played very boring rugby (which we do half the time) etc etc. I'm fed up of all the false dawns.
If we had come 3rd last season, our start to this season wouldn't be looked at in amazement by the majority of our fans. We don't look like a team that would go well in the play-offs, or go well in the cup if we had a tough draw and thats all that matters. This isn't a league campaign like football where it doesn't matter how well you do as long as you get victories. In our league you have to get some victories but also show that you have the edge for knock out games. That we do not have, by a long shot

Re: Perspective!!! : Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:36 pm  

ExiledFromHull wrote:

Does anyone remember last year?

Do you? The awful start? Injury problems? Poor results?

Yes. But whilst I'm not at all jumping to the conclusion it will pan out that way just because of a bit of a blip, I wouldn't another season of underachievement as acceptable just because last year was worse.

Do you remember saying Sharpe wasnt good enough? The quality of his tactics and recruitment, yes.
Do you remember saying Kear wasnt good enough? Again, his tactics at times, yes. He's done well at Wakefield but still not enough to suggest to me that that was a wrong assessment.
Do you remember saying McRae wasnt good enough? No, IMO he did an excellent job for us, and I came away feeling entertained almost every week.

So (and i say this as a Hull fan), we've had one of the best starts in our history. We've played some good rugby, we've played some crap. But still a good start.

SO WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM................!
Do you want FC to be the Harlem Globetrotters of Rugby?
Do you want FC to play entertaining Rugby all the bloody time? No, but more than occasionally would be nice.

Or do you want them to win? Because Hull havent got the types of player to set the game alight? Then it's up to the coaching staff to get some that can. We've had the same problems for several years now, it's about time somebody fixed them.
Hull are a workmanlike team, they grind down the oppo and grind out a win. Every coach has been dealt this hand and every coach has tailored the game plan and tactic to accomodate this.

Not true IMO. Kear and Sharp also brought in some duffers to further shift our emphasis towards unspectacular workmen when it was obvious to all we were crying out for more quality. Agar has so far been hampered by what was available and being held up by red tape, I think recruitment for next season will be of much interest. Either way, our grinding approach is still way OTT. Our players are not that limited to necessitate such dour tactics.

You could of course be like Huddersfield, play expansive, daring Rugby and lose each week, run it on the 6th and hope.

We (at least should) have far more resources at our disposal than Huddersfield, I fail to see why they are the level of comparison. We should be capable of getting there with Leeds and Saints.

Or you could be Hull.

Choice is yours - but as fans, you have to recognise the players we have, the type of game capable with these players, and more importantly, whether you want to be entertained, or win?

I fail to see it as a choice that must be made. We have a few players not capable of the entertaining rugby we want, but we certainly have more than enough who are, we've seen them do it. We may not have the personnel capable of the kind of flowing stuff the top 2 play, but we play the dullest brand of rugby in SL. Something doesn't add up there if the Celtics and Salfords at the bottom of the table are still more varied and imaginative sides than us.