They play the play off finals that weekend so wembley wouldnt be free.

Surely if a player is being paid by a club it doesn`t matter which one the coach names to play?

You can't put the Cup Final to the end of the season. The end of the season has to be the Grand Final. The closer you put the 2 finals the more they affect each other. I'd move it to around early/mid June and have a double header for the semi finals.

June would be ideal but i think BBC like a clear schedule during June/July for Wimbledon, Major football tournaments, Athletics and the like.

Would make sense though.

If you view the Challenge Cup and the the League as two separate competitions I can see the argument for separating the finals.

I prefer to view it as part of the season's competition and to win the "Double" is the mark of a great team because it is an achievement.

Would Hull have rested players if finishing top meant you were champions?

Only really Radford could answer that honestly. But just because we rested players, don't think that means we aren't bothered about finishing top.

Before this weekends games we knew that the equation was, win our last three and we will be top. That is still the equation. So whilst a win on Friday would have allowed us one slip up against either Wigan or Wakefield, it wasn't vital.

Beat Wigan next week and a home playoff is safe (barring an extraordinary PD swing). Then in all likely hood when we play Wire again there will be one point separating the teams and it will be a showdown for the hubcap.

If they flogged their tired players straight after an emotional and intense cup final, do you think they'd have a better chance of finishing top? I think they'd have a better chance of risking injury to key players going into crucial games.

Hypothetical.

Any ways, if Hul win their final 3 super 8 games they will finish top. It's still in their own hands.

Hypothetical.

Any ways, if Hul win their final 3 super 8 games they will finish top. It's still in their own hands.

1. Player safety, a fatigued player is more likely to sustain injury
2. A fatigued player even if they are a 'name' is not necessarily going to perform better than a squad player, this was clearly highlighted in the poor display after the Wigan semi-final in which Radford decided to play the same pack of forwards and they were listless to say the least.
Similarly after Catalans at home and a long streak of most of the first 17 playing week in week out Radford only rested Ellis against bottom team Huddersfield. We'd already looked flat on occasion and this was an ideal time to rest more bodies. To lose to Hudds in those circumstances should show that fresher squad players are often better than fatigued big names/first 13 players