Wade McKinnon was actually very good in the short time he was here. Things just didn't work out.

Looking at the teams the OP posted, I had completely forgotten that Paul Johnson ever played for us, and even now I have been reminded of it I literally can't think of one moment of him in a Hull shirt. I guess if he was that forgetful it is probably fair to have him in the "worst" team.

In these "best" teams, there is always a debate in whether you simply choose the best players or the ones who had the longevity and brought the most to the club. Its very hard. For example, Kelly is probably a better player than Richard Horne was, but how can you leave Horne out after all he did for the club?

I aren't going to try to make a team, but I will throw a few names forward that haven't been mentioned yet.

As a kid of 10/11 Tony Grimaldi is one of the first players that I remember really admiring for his grit and determination rather than for being anything flashy. He has probably being usurped in his position by Ellis and a couple of others, but he certainly deserves a mention.

Stephen Kearney wasn't here long, but there is no way imo that we win the cup without him in 2005. Everything that a leader should be.

Danny Tickle wasn't a superstar but was very reliable for a long time. Both in his general play and his kicking.

Ewan Dowes started to get a lot of stick later in his career when he perhaps started to lose some impact. But in 2005/2006 you could have made a case for him being the best prop in SL.

Matty Head is still the most gifted 7 we have had in the SL era. Its a shame that injuries cut his stay so short.

Motu Tony got stick from some when he took Briscoe's FB spot, but I thought he was a superb player. Very versatile and gave us some really iconic moments. Then obviously came back and did a lot for us off the field as well.

How strong are those chocolate liqueurs?

The thing about that group of 4 adding in King, was that they were all very good but also different and there was never a dip when they were rotated. The best group of props as a collective we've had in the last 30 years IMO and the platform of our success for those couple of years. A reason why I think we'll struggle to break the big 4 this time round - just don't see that consistent quality in our front row options. As a comparison in 16/17 we had Taylor, Watts, Bowden and Green with the latter two in their best form.amd again intensity not really dropping during interchanges. Just don't see that for 2020 but hope I'm wrong.

He was possibly the most consistent player in a team that won a Challenge Cup and reached a Grand Final. Admittedly his form took a dive over the next 2 or 3 years, but he was very close to a GB call up around that time and in 2006 in particular he was right up there amongst the best front rowers in the league. He was never the most eye catching, but his engine was second to none. If you can't understand the value of a player like Dowes in his prime then you clearly don't know much about the game. And to dismiss his name as a joke is pretty disrespectful to a guy that gave his all for the club every time he went out there.

It's not often I agree with you Mrs B but you are dead right there on all counts. That group had all bases covered, they complimented each other perfectly. We had a grafter (Dowes), a big bodied metre maker (Carvell), a tackle busting impact player (Thacks) and a skillful all rounder (Kingy).

I'll reserve judgement on this years group, but I do share similar concerns. Houghton cant keep making 60 tackles a game forever. Someone somewhere is going to have to take up that slack. I'm sure this group of props will break bags of tackles and get plenty of offloads away, but you have to be good without the ball as well.

Great description of that 'Awesome Foursome". On the Houghton point I guess the kid from Widnes will start spelling him at some point, but it's unfortunate/concerning that he'll be chucked in the deep end for the first few rounds while Houghton recovers from injury.