Joined: May 04 2005 Posts: 5355 Location: Watching the Warrington All Stars
Its been a fantastic season for you Guys. After the Widnes game early in the season who would have guessed that you would win the Challenge Cup (by beating all the big teams along the way), top SL for most of the season and be within a whisker of making the GF.
Next season will be another great season for you because the players that you have got are very good.
It's been a good season, completely surpassing my pre season expectations and wembley will live with me forever HOWEVER I can't get away from my thinking that we've blown an amazing chance to win all 3 trophies on offer this year. If we were playing now as we were mid season then we'd have taken the LLS at a canter and we'd have beaten whoever we'd have ended up playing at OT next week. Despite being really poor since wembley, we've still given saints a good game at their place, thrown away a game winning lead against wigan at the KC, been in the shoot out for the LLS with less than 10 minutes to go and led at wigan in the semi with less than 1/4 of the match left. It's just really gutting for me that we've performed so poorly and still being there or thereabouts.
For anyone questioning effort and commitment, you've been watching a different team to me all season. Other than (maybe) widnes away, it's been the most hard working, committed group of players I've seen in hull shirts since the Brian Smith era. Similarly, sneyd has been off since wembley but this is the guy who has won us plenty of games this season with his kicking, including the CC final so people need to get a grip.
Being an eternal pessimist (no, really I am), I can't help but think we won't be as good next year. ellis and mini a year older, no yeamo to shore up our left edge defence, a lack of pace in the team, still question marks over the stand off position, a lack of attacking flair, no dummy runners and a shortage of players who support the man with the ball (how many times did mini get his hands free last night only to have no one to pass to?). Plenty to fix up in the off season but radford now has some runs on the board so hopefully less pressure will allow him to build again from here.
Next season could see us moving into a period of transition as the likes of mini, ellis and maybe pritchard could potentially retire and recruiting suitable replacements will be a big challenge for motu. We also need to look at tying down sneyd and watts (who has been outstanding this year IMO and could have his head turned by his bezzie at warrington if we're not careful) to longer term contracts.
For me, we need a bit more pace and flair in the team. We'll still grind out wins, I'm sure, but we need to become a better attacking threat as a team which will mean we still win games even when we're a bit off like the wire and wigan games at the KC.
All in all, a season above expectations but one which I'm still gutted that we haven;t really achieved what we might have
knockersbumpMKII wrote:VERY negative, no, not really, it's being realistic. Look at what happened through the season, read what Radford himself said last night. He played virtually the first 17 all season compared to all the other top teams, that got us through the campaign to the top of the league for most of the year and to sneak the CC win with a fantastic comeback despite playing mickey poor for 60 minutes. We managed it on the back of forward power/domination + Sneyd's kicking and certainly not on the back of guile/inventive play. As has being mentioned a few times by posters, teams have figured us out, we don't have a plan B, we aren't that good in the final 20 far too often and come the back end of the season we got found out fitness/endurance wise (Again Radford's own words) and as a consequence we dropped off and lost 6 of the last 9 games.
Repeating this season next is going to be far harder, we are unlikely to be as fortunate with injuries (it must be the best season ever with respect to that) and clearly players unless rotated within the forwards more than this season will flag at the back end as seen throughout the 8s (and even further back as I alluded to). Even Ellis and Houghton looked shagged against Warrington and that was in the first 10 minutes. Importantly we need to start having some creative play, that hasn't happened much for a while. We were a loss against a micturate poor Hudds Leeds away from winning the LLS and a definite home tie in the play offs. Continuing with the 'Hulk smash' formula for next season won't reap the same dividends this and IMHO we won't replicate this season. might we still be in with a shout, of course and of course I want silverware again, it's just an opinion based on what we've seen.s WIZEB, read again, some are disappointed how we have performed in the S8s, me included. That does not suggest for one second that fans are disappointed in the season overall, but then you have a hard time at deciphering plain English and like to put your own spin on things for the sake of wanting to cause a ruck.
No one has figured us out at all, we've simply hit a wall since wembley.
Joined: Jan 11 2005 Posts: 3912 Location: West Hull
Jake the Peg wrote:It's been a good season, completely surpassing my pre season expectations and wembley will live with me forever HOWEVER I can't get away from my thinking that we've blown an amazing chance to win all 3 trophies on offer this year. If we were playing now as we were mid season then we'd have taken the LLS at a canter and we'd have beaten whoever we'd have ended up playing at OT next week. Despite being really poor since wembley, we've still given saints a good game at their place, thrown away a game winning lead against wigan at the KC, been in the shoot out for the LLS with less than 10 minutes to go and led at wigan in the semi with less than 1/4 of the match left. It's just really gutting for me that we've performed so poorly and still being there or thereabouts.
For anyone questioning effort and commitment, you've been watching a different team to me all season. Other than (maybe) widnes away, it's been the most hard working, committed group of players I've seen in hull shirts since the Brian Smith era. Similarly, sneyd has been off since wembley but this is the guy who has won us plenty of games this season with his kicking, including the CC final so people need to get a grip.
Being an eternal pessimist (no, really I am), I can't help but think we won't be as good next year. ellis and mini a year older, no yeamo to shore up our left edge defence, a lack of pace in the team, still question marks over the stand off position, a lack of attacking flair, no dummy runners and a shortage of players who support the man with the ball (how many times did mini get his hands free last night only to have no one to pass to?). Plenty to fix up in the off season but radford now has some runs on the board so hopefully less pressure will allow him to build again from here.
Next season could see us moving into a period of transition as the likes of mini, ellis and maybe pritchard could potentially retire and recruiting suitable replacements will be a big challenge for motu. We also need to look at tying down sneyd and watts (who has been outstanding this year IMO and could have his head turned by his bezzie at warrington if we're not careful) to longer term contracts.
For me, we need a bit more pace and flair in the team. We'll still grind out wins, I'm sure, but we need to become a better attacking threat as a team which will mean we still win games even when we're a bit off like the wire and wigan games at the KC.
All in all, a season above expectations but one which I'm still gutted that we haven;t really achieved what we might have
Summed up very nicely Jake..
Going forward, the bar has been set to a high level..
I think Radford, needs to take a long hard look, at why our attack, as a team has diminished.
IMO ,Our attack declined, when we removed Pryce at 6....
Shaul, is a great runner, but doesnt have the nouse, to create the openings , but coupled with a ball playing 6, or a direct 6.. works.
For mine Sneyd and Carlos are too similar...
Too many occasions, players take the ball from a standing start.. this has to be addressed in training.. - maybe a new attack coach, would aid this problem.
According to Lee Radford when interviewed, "Is it basics?" - He said "No, its nouse"
The Jake Connor signing is interesting,, will he play 6 or 1????????????.....
Also interesting, recruitment wise.. Will be... IF its Ellis.Pritchard & Minichiello last season in 2017?
Do they replace them with 3 backrowers???
Last edited by weaver93 on Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
If any team has been figured out it is Wigan. Its been known for years what they do but it hasn't stopped them winning. Similarly if opponents know what Hull are going to do it isn't the end of the world. Execute it well and its hard to beat - the execution has dropped off in the last month probably due to fatigue and players carrying injuries.
Jake the Peg wrote:No one has figured us out at all, we've simply hit a wall since wembley.
we hit a wall long before wembley, some of the performances were average but we sneaked some wins but we also lost a couple of shockers with tired legs already showing (when Radford should have freshened things up). Teams have figured out that we've been running out of gas in games and that we are crap in the 20 and that our attack mainly consisted of forwards smashing it (aside from Minichello) and a Sneyd kick. Adjusting how you deal with that is simpler than say a team like Cas, Wigan, St,Helens even Catalans before they totally imploded.. Sure Fonua pulled out some great stuff, indeed Shaul earlier in the season but since Carlos came into the halves (not blaming him BTW) we have been clueless and easier to deal with as our main threat has got progressively more jaded.
Joined: Oct 07 2006 Posts: 4928 Location: Drypool Bridge - watching out for invaders from the East.
penny for your thoughts wrote:We could have won all 3 trophies and there would have still been some supporters not happy Live and enjoy the time we had and aim higher next season
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