Quote: Chris71 "In regards to where we finish, following our dismal league finishes over the last few years, it's imperative that we finish as high as we possibly can and 8th should be a realistic target. Whilst we have and are still undergoing huge changes that are & will improve us, it will not happen overnight.
What I like so far that has come from the changes and I thought it was very much in evidence at the forum was the openness and honesty coming from RM, JC and AT which is refreshing change to the usual soundbites and false promises.
We know next year isn't going to see us challenging for LLS or GF but should see us challenging week in week out for 80mins. A lot has been made of this recruitment cycle but we can't hide behind the fact we were already behind the 8 ball when we started making changes. In an ideal world we'd have had replacements lined up etc before moved players on but i'd rather the club make the tough decisions needed and take the action rather than continue to wait. I think the next recruitment cycle will be much better and will already be much more proactive. From AT comments we are also going to be more proactive in terms of the Grading with his statement and doing what is need to attain an A grade at the first chance.
Money won't transform us in to an overnight success, success will only come from working hard, commitment, accountability and Leadership. In people like AT at the very top and JC we have two very capable people who have a wealth of experience and ability to be able to deliver the success. For all our neighbours are calling JC our 3rd choice coach for me I think it has been very much a case of one of those right time, right place situations that usually tend to work out as the more successful appointments. Listening to JC and having a chat with him in my local, for me he seems another in the mould like Peter Sharp so hopefully JC will have a similar impact of the players he has at his disposal.
I think other than the likes of Wigan, Warrington, Catalans, KR and probably St Helens (though not totally convinced with Wellens as HC) the rest will be fighting it out. Still not sure on just Leeds will go as yet, Salford may well see some struggle without Blease, Leigh I think will be there or there abouts, Cas, Wakey difficult to say and do think Huddersfield will have another poor season. So there is plenty of scope for us to be in the higher end of the mid table.'"
The main positive is there's at least a clear strategy at Hull to move forward now, along with the resources to carry it out. It will take time and there will be no prospect of competing for the top prize over the next couple of years - the main purposes of 2025 and 2026 are essentially to develop the young players to a point where they can play significant roles in the team going forward and to put the building blocks of performance in place for the future (i.e. team culture, ethos, strength and conditioning etc). Its a shame that it ever got to this point as it was a preventable situation but thankfully the Hull fanbase have been extremely loyal and seem prepared to stick by the club during the recovery process.
Many of the signings for those two years are essentially stop gaps and whilst they hopefully have enough gas in the tank to get by the next two years at a good level - the likes of Holmes, Hardaker, Sezer, Rapana and Briscoe likely won't be there in 2027 and I'm certain that is the year that has been earmarked by the new leadership as the target for Hull competing for the Grand Final again.
