A good post. More than happy in most areas, especially the pack where I think Bowden and Washy have exceeded all expectations. The one disappointment for me there is Manu, I think he's lucky to be keeping the likes of Hadley, Thompson, Green etc out personally.

Centre still worry me - we're doing ok but in terms of a top 4, then GF push, this is where we look slightly short to me. No one has necessarily let us down, but conversely no one really stands out either.

I've been to all hulls matches at home and when I've seen manu play have been underwhelmed . but when I've watched the match back on fc live I've been surprised how much of the so called dirty work he does.

We have to be happy with how things have gone so far , a bit of luck and we could have been even better. Radford has moulded a good side who clearly fight for the badge and are all in it together and that on its own is something we have not had for years.We have some fantastic talent coming through the ranks which will be a huge benefit to the culture of the Club . No doubt we will have some downs along the way but we have to be excited what the potential this squad can achieve

Danny Houghton said several weeks ago that Manu was his type of player.Does a lot of hard graft which goes unnoticed.
What i dont like though is how Radford interchanges Manu.
In my opinion is on the field too long. At Leeds he was out on his feet before being inchanged.That could and should have been done 10 mins earlier.
We have some quality on the bench now (apart from Feka) so dont need to exhaust players.
I like Feka but he is finished at this level.Why Radford wastes a bench spot on him to play 10 minutes only he knows.

Spot on

A bit harsh on feka, didnt look out of place for the 10 mins he was on, just dont understand why he only played for 10 mins. Manu was our best player over the first 3 games, like the rest of the squad, his standards dropped for the next couple. Thought he was very good against leeds, the suggestion of hadley or green should be in front of him for a starting position is way off

Don't think his standards have dropped. It's just he's had a few games based more on graft. He'd scored a couple of tries n showed some nice stuff but a lack of a steady 6 giving him some decent ball has made him seem a bit less effective
I'd fancy he'll be back in the tries when pryce gets back
Also Manu's work on the floor is unmatched in out team. League even. Works the floor brilliantly

It's such a mixed bag this season so far, from depressing lows to exaltation.
Great start and looking like we going to blow teams away to abysmal performances for the next three (despite the closeness of the Cas & Wigan games we were bang average)
The five game run showed we can show spirit and can hang on in and grind results which we weren't doing previously, oh and some certain amount of talent.
The turning point of our season has to be the KR game, a great, great comeback, amazing feeling from fans and players and from that wins against two top teams which is a feather in Radford's cap.
Losing against Leeds is a real dissapointment and still highlights two mistakes Radford repeats and has done on numerous occasions.

We have some gumption and heart and attacking wise we look a hell of a lot better when we actually get our act together whereas the last two seasons we just haven't, we are playing better as a whole, there are signs and a belief by the fans we really can beat anyone and could well be serious contenders but the players are making the same type of errors also that are costing us and at times we have looked fragile.
Thus far I think we are a strong 7.5/10, there's definitely room for improvement, we can definitely play better, we have an immense squad and first 17 and if Radford and the players can cut out making repeat errors and continue with the good stuff we will make a dent at the back end of the season.

Beating Wakey is really important right now before facing Catalans.

How can we have been both "abysmal" and "average" in the Cas and Wigan games?

Otherwise a fair post.

Happy, but could still go either way. Be interesting to bring this thread back up if we happen to lose to Wakefield and Catalans - entirely possible given their form - in the next two games.

Of the defeats, the Castleford one was particularly unfortunate and I think we'd win that game if it were played now we've tightened our edges up defensively. But Leeds on Friday was a poor result, and however hilarious the derby was we weren't good there for an hour against the worst team in the competition.

We are, for all the money spent and excellent recruitment, already reduced to playing Danny Washbrook at 6, which he never has been and never will be. We're an injury to Sneyd away from God know's what, likewise Houghton who has been superb.

With the players we have fourth is the least we should expect, and fourth is where we are, so that's fine. Like I say, let's look in again next Friday night. Massive pair of games coming up. It's very delicately balanced at the moment - beat Wakefield, beat Catalans, secure in top four with winnable games to come. Lose one, or both, pick up an injury to Sneyd or Houghton and the whole thing can go down the tubes again.