It's been interesting to watch Leeds ebb and flow this season. We started out looking terrible in the pack, especially when Ward got injured. Signing Ava has made me a little happier, and I think Oldeski has put a manful stint in this year so far, and of course Merrin has been solid.
We have the makings of a great pack in another couple of years, but I still think we're light on pace and power; I'd like to see another quality prop to partner Ava, and then have Oledski and Holroyd as longer-term back-ups (can keep Peteru/Crosby/maybe Singleton in meantime). I liked the idea of Joel Thompson in the second row because he's far more dynamic than anybody else we have in the forwards, we are way too slow on the edges (Ferres v Clubb for evidence if you needed it).
I don't think we're out of the woods in the pack yet if we want to do better next year. Hooker appears an issue too of course.
It's like, we plug one leak and another emerges somewhere else across the dam.
The good news is that we are only 3-4 good signings (in the right positions) away from being a very competitive side again, with some real talent for the future at the club.

Fair assessment that. Lets hope we survive this year for it come to fruition.

Because I disagree, I am throwing the toys???? interesting, near Bipolar world you live in. I'd perhaps suggest if you cannot handle a response its yourself who should think twice before logging on, as clearly evidenced above.

If you care to read most threads on the Hull FC forum, you will see its far from an "ignorance is bliss" board.

Too many cling to prior seasons when (usually) their own team dominated and convince themselves that fit was far better then. Reality here is, as I previously posted, there is one team who are consistently performing well, play to their potential in 90% of their games and are well coached. There is at the moment one genuine contender to compete with them but they have faltered recently. In a salary capped sport it should come down to who prepared better / recruited better (both on and off the pitch). Its taken some time but there is clearly an evening out of the playing field.

This isn't about Hull, it's about professional RL players in general. Anyone who has achieved this level in such a brutal game deserves better than to be called garbage. If you don't think they are very good players, that's fine, but garbage? Did you want to be a RL player when you were growing up? How far did you get?

And the players don't earn good money at all. Their pay is a pittance for what they do.

No thanks.

In many cases it's very good pay compared to what else they might do though.

I do think players generally get more stick than they deserve; I'm certainly not tough enough to go over that white line on a weekend and get battered. The standard of even a failed SL player is way above the vast majority of posters on here too of course.

But then there are some legitimate frustrations too, because young lads who get picked up and have never really had to earn a living in the "real world" can and do get spoilt sometimes.

I'm not sure where you're all going with this semantic argument over the word "garbage". It is easy to criticise from a keyboard, yes, and similarly fans do support players' wages and have a right to an opinion, yes.

I think we are playing much smarter than other years actually, we have previously, mentally and physically put everything into every game in the past, giving us long winning streaks early season. these have, admittedly, brought us 2 cup wins but from that exact point onwards we have folded and given up, mentally and physically drained.
I agree when we have coasted into games we have been hammered and that isn't acceptable, but we can win the games we need to and are just now coming into our best form. Wire, I feel, have hit a wall, playing at 100% and now losing, and morale is maybe on a spiral downwards. Hull coming to the crest of a wave now at the business end of the season.

Saints are much better than anyone else atm anyway and can win without going all out.
I'm more confident than other years.

What's impressive about Saints is their consistency. Even their weaker performances have actually been pretty good performances by other teams standards. But I don't think their A game is that far ahead of everyone elses A game. If we play our best rugby when we meet them I think we can turn them over, and I think Warrington and perhaps even Catalans and Cas will feel the same way. Hull blow hot and cold, and the way we have downed tools at times really isn't acceptable for a professional team. But ultimately those blow outs won't mean anything if we make the top 3. In the playoffs its all about who performs on the day.

London showing this is likely to go right to the end of the season.

Is relegation a threat yet?

Amazing season from them. They are certainly not going to go away. Could be 20 points for safety at this rate.

They were written off as absolute no-hopers this season, we were told that London wouldnt win a game, hadnt spent any money on players of quality etc etc, what they have got is an amazing battle hardened squad and mentality and basically are playing with absolute freedom, they were expected to go down and expected to be easy beats and they are anything but.