Have to say I tend to agree that I think with the addition of Reynolds we certainly will have a much more attacking threat as a team and Reynolds is a threat and a player Wigan will be wary off. Also Reynolds seems to have a very similar impact on the players around him like Gareth Ellis did in that they all seem to give that little bit extra. We took Wigan very close and had some decisions gone our way we could have knicked it.

The CC game is going to be another tough and tight encounter especially with Taylor and Bowden missing but after last night I am certainly very optimistic of progressing to the next round as so far I am certainly impressed with the change in the team in terms of consistency and doggedness which have been an issue for as long as we all can remember.

The offsides all game when Wigan were defending their line was a absolute joke, they are so blatant with it because they know Child doesn't have the bottle to blow the penalty. Our attack did leave a lot to be desired but the lack of space we were given was a major factor in this.



The defensive effort by our players was superb though, the willingness to work for each other was epitomised by Lanes incredible tackle under the post. After our really poor opening 10 minutes where we seemed rattled and looked like we could get bullied out of the game we showed that we can go set for set in these 'arm wrestle' type games.



Next week will be interesting hopefully Reynolds is back but him been back will probably be offset by a ban for Connor.



I'm a big fan of him anyway but thought Big Chris was really good last night and he has started imposing himself on games and stepped up the physicality.

Agree with this, whilst Ben McNamara hasn't pulled up any trees (which I certainly haven't expected him to) he has been consistent, steady and very low on errors. Even in the past few games you can see improvements and confidence that the experience is bringing. I would say Harry Smith when he was given his first chance by Wigan wasn't much better at the time but Wigan gave him the time to develop and that's why they have so much success with young players as thats what we need to do with Ben particularly in such a demanding position. For me he has not looked out of place in the games so far and gone about the job well and defensively he's reliable.

I think the majority of us didn't expect to win last night but were rather viewing the game as a barometer of, if and by how much we had improved.



It was evident last night that we have improved massively under BH and whilst disappointed with the loss, it's bittersweet knowing we are capable of competing and could have won.

Red aside, I think Hastings made the difference how he bossed Wigan around and dictated their plays.

Sneyd whilst steady didn't have that sort of impact last night and Ben whilst a young player was all about the catch and pass. Reynolds would have made a difference akin to Hastings.

Whilst disappointing to lose I am positive regarding our performance and improvement, last season we would have folded like a tower of cards.

An outstanding effort from the boys. At that level were back to 2016 and 2017 intensity. Just need to stay there....under this coach I'm confident we will. Went toe to toe even when down a man, our lads stepped up, that shows a lot against a top side.

Last time we played like this was in the cup qtr. final travesty away at Saints 2018, when we had 2 or 3 off the field and still took it to them.



Don't want to get ahead of myself but seems Hodgson is instilling into these players a winning mentality. You walk out on to the park with that in your head each game, and its a different animal. Great job Hull, A brain fart less here, and a ref call there, and we win that. ....and Wigan will know it. No complaints from me on that front, we learn from it and become better. The offside call was a bad miss on a BIG call, but it happens.

The fighting spirit that we lacked for a while seems to be back this year. Wigan were ferocious in the first 10 or 15 minutes. If that had been us from the last couple of years they would have all but won the game in that period. But we dug really deep and patiently worked our way back into it. Had it not been for a poor error from Fonua we would have seen that period out without conceding (fwiw I thought Fonua bounced back well from that and had a good game).



I think we are finding out some things that we still need to be better at, but he has made massive improvements already. Especially in defence. With a couple of years to keep working with them and to add a few more players of his choosing I feel like Hodgson can do something special with this team. Exciting times.

Exactly.

It was never about the players ability but rather their mentality.

It's not an over night fix but we're heading in the right direction.

It's also great to see our defensive line now move up and slide across instead of the plant your feet, wait for them to come to us we'd become accustomed too over the last few years.

I thought our defensive line went back into Radford mode last night and we just let them run at us far too much. They on the other hand were lightning quick. Yes they was offside a lot but Childs let em and we never tried the same.

We did in the first half when they were pinned in their left corner and got penalised for it straight away. The amount of times you heard Child warn a Wigan player to get their hand off the ball but not give us a set restart was a joke compared to us who he seemed to give a set restart against whenever Hastings waved his arms up and down.

Guess we see different things.

Mental state, conditioning and muscle memory needs rewriting for most of these players after years of playing the Radford way.

Maybe tiredness and fatigue set in towards the end but our attitude never waned.

Hastings and Bateman were both playing the ref with their theatrics.

To be fair I thought we were slow getting into the game in the first 20 mins as opposed to Wigan who were quick out the blocks. I honestly thought other than a few errors our defence was good and we were patient and worked our way in to the game. For all everyone lauds Wigan and how well they've played so far and last night to think the game was in the balance until the last seconds just shows we are a much more together and structured side already in such a short time.



Interesting that even a lot of Wigan fans have said that they got the rub of the green and got a lot of decisions their way. Hopefully in time we will be afforded a more even spread but last night the same as against Wakefield I certainly didn't think we any worse on infringements than the opposition to warrant the differences in set restarts.

There were a couple of things that annoyed me in particular for almost identical infringements where Childs penalised us yet Wigan do the same and all we got was a shout of '6 Again'.

And not forgetting Powell as he must have puppet strings on his arms as every time Wigan are tackled and he's there at the ptb his arms are up and down like crazy pleading to the officials.

Thrilling end to end rugby loads of skill,a great advert for our game,Hope scotts injury isnt too bad,

Very happy with our start to the season, there is a noticeable uplift in intensity and fitness and we are more unpredictable. I never have an issue losing if it's been a tight game and we've given our all, much better than the 'hands on hips after a mistake' stuff we saw from 2018 onwards.

You impressed me last night. I expected a comfortable Wigan win, especially when Taylor came off.



McNamara really struggled I thought, Renolyds back next week should make a difference.



With the return of JR, neutral venue and a bit more motivation after the Clubb incident I can see you turning us over now.

From a neutral pov, first half I thought you guys did really well mixing the kicks up, limiting French and hardakers involvements on returns and tackle 1.



Good bit of game planning there.

Very professional joint statement from both clubs to address the Savelio/Clubb incident.

I've stayed quiet on the clubb event, but the fact he hasnt said anything and he has been suspended, speaks volumes.



I would rather him just apologies and take his punishment.

Definitely Dave, a weeks holiday in New Zealand, two weeks if he’s guilty.

A a Polynesian I just wonder what the Wigan Coach Lam thinks of the comment.

Think Clubb will be banned from the game

Big Chris is now our number one prop

After a slow start at the club he has worked hard with his fitness level and it shows.

He’s our only prop at the moment.

several of us did voice our concern that we were short of an experienced front row

Now three fairly long term injuries to front rows leaves us with no more wiggle room to cover another injury and a lightweight but mobile pack.

There is no way Cator,Savelio and Lane can maintain the form and effort they are putting in playing 80 min every week

I like what our new coach is doing, he’s evaluating our squad, don’t know what’s up with Tag & Brownie, or how long the prognosis is. These big guys could do with the scrums returning, a lot of them are on their knees after games.