2009
Position2010
Position: 2nd
Won 4 out of 5
Scored 166 (2nd best attack)
Conceeeded 60 (3rd best defence)

Yes I conceed that in those first 5 last year we had Saints and Leeds but the big loses didn't happen against them but against Wakefield, Catalans and Harlequins. Our first 5 fixtures this year could have actually proved tricky as well.

We still need to play some of the better teams but we also have 2 underperforming teams (Salford and Catalans) to play.

Super League this year is an unknown entity. Who'd have thought the early pace setters would have been nilled by Huddersfield, or beaten by an average Bradford side?

Crusaders are actually a very good team, they've shown that already this season and yesterdays big win, with a slightly weakened team was a very good result. Beating Cas on their own turf was the same, along with a win at Huddersfield against a team who the following week would thrash Wakefield.

Saturday will be a good test, but I'm confident of getting a win in the bag. It's the following week that we (the fans, not the players) should be looking to. If we can beat Saints, then confidence in the squad would be sky high and their will be no excuses not to kick on from there and actually make a success of the season.

Good innit? But a word of warning....

Hull FC 5 5 0 0 134 86 10

this time last year....

Nobody can deny we've made a great start and we've improved in almost every area from 12 months ago but as pointed out we have yet to play the big or in-form teams like Leeds, Saints and this year Hull FC, we came up against an in-form team this year and lost (Not by much but still lost)... I'd expect us to beat Bradford at home but then Saints away is another challenge that we need to prove ourselves in.

Lets face it your opening fixtures have been nigh on byes bar Huddersfield and Wigan and you are 50% from those two.

To win at Shuddersfield in light of their destruction of Wakey & Hull KR (both teams who have beaten last year's Grand Finalists...) on their own patches; to beat Crusaders so comfortably after they had beaten a Hull team who had won at KR in Round 1; and to win at Cas the week after they had won at Headingley all shows not only the general unpredictability of SL15 but also the greater consistency of Wire in 2010. You can only beat the opposition in front of you & with the exception of a nailbiter that literally could have gone either way we've done that with relative ease. Yes we will have tougher matches, but look at it the other way - how many teams will be fancying playing us now?

Wigan will

Hull v Warrington is a game I'm looking forward to. When are you playing them?

I'm not too sure we need to win at Saints to be honest, I'd like to, sure.

I think it's more important that we beat Bradford, Wakefield & Salford, all at home & other side of Saints. Keep the feelgood factor at the HJ, crowds up etc.

I don't see Saints as the acid test, two trips to Hull in six six days, now that will be for me when I see what we're made of.

Could do with getting that monkey off our back though its gone on far too long.

Totally agree, there will be partying on the terraces if we finally get a win at Knowsley Rd...

We've never been there under Smith, that's the difference.

Clean Slate.

First game I look for when the fixtures come out is Saints home and away to say we owe them one is an understatement but got to deal with Bradford before we can start thinking about them.

Finding out that we were playing without both halfbacks made me a bit worried about yesterdays game. In previous years a game like Crusaders would usually be a potential Banana Skin for the Wire. I need not have worried. There is a new attitude within the team, there appears to be cover in every position, and we've even shown that we can win without Briers.
Last season we were too reliant on Carvell and Morley. This year we've got a very fit and impressive Paul Wood and if Solo stays fit (he played 55 mins yesterday) he will be a tremendous attacking weapon. We haven't even needed to use Mike Cooper yet.