Wigan were excellent, particularly for a Round 2 game. Rock solid, very powerful in the forwards and Jai Field looks twice the player he was this time last year. I have a suspicion he's trying to put himself in the NRL shop window but we'll see. Hull tried hard and there were no overly soft tries conceded unlike last year. The short drop out was a bit daft. No getting around it though - unless the luck with injuries improves it will likely be another tough season. A real shame there are so many so early - not just with Hull but across SL. Ese-Ese, Sezer and Rapana looked decent and good to see Barron give Jai Field a run for his money.

Anyone know the completion rate and errors for Wigan? Wouldnt surprise ne if they were around 90-100% both halves, plus you could count on one hand the number of errors last night from them, not including penalties either....that how good they were.

[quote="number 6":2w99jxb0]Anyone know the completion rate and errors for Wigan? Wouldnt surprise ne if they were around 90-100% both halves, plus you could count on one hand the number of errors last night from them, not including penalties either....that how good they were.[/quote:2w99jxb0] According to the Super League website they completed at 99% whereas we completed at 66%. They made nearly 1000 metres more than we did.

[quote="Hasbag":81tj533i]According to the Super League website they completed at 99% whereas we completed at 66%. They made nearly 1000 metres more than we did.[/quote:81tj533i] Wow! If those stats are correct there is no wonder the game unfolded as it did! Looking back on last night in the cold light of a new day, Wigan were nigh on perfect throughout the whole eighty minutes. Power, pace, teamwork, inventiveness, they had the lot. We worked hard, stuck at it the best we could, and didn't let our heads drop too much which is a big improvement on past seasons, but last night was a sobering reminder of how far we have to travel if we wish to compete again at the top. Hopefully we won't have to witness too many more games like this or the effects will begin to have a detrimental impact on the season. They need to file last night under 'experience' and move on to games where we may be able to compete on a slightly more even footing, here's hoping so.

I agree with most of the above reviews. On the plus side, I thought we did show improvement in defence, especially the wrestle. Our discipline was much better (no cards!!!). Although limited opportunities, our attack does look more direct, and has more zip in the passing. On the downside, our squad depth is too thin. With last week’s injuries, we’d all but lost this game during the week. Add Ligi to the list mid-game and we had no chance. Wigan were very good and didn’t really need to break sweat. Jai Field looked like he could score when he wanted. Saying that, it’s only small console, but last season our team would have thrown the towel in, had players sin binned and conceded over 60-70 points. Still not disheartened. This season is all about improvement and realistically we are targeting 8/9th spot. Beating Cats was a plus and we’ve already shown what we are capable of. The next few games are winnable, but we need some bodies back and we need at least a couple of signings to strengthen the squad.

Re: Wilf's post above. Think that captures what most of us are feeling this morning, perfect summation of last night We're in it for the long haul (we have no choice really but to do otherwise!). There were positives, negatives, talking points galore from last night, all perfectly encapsulated by Wilf, as always. There's a long road ahead of us if we are to get even remotely back to where we all wish to be and I think we all knew it's going to be a long hard bumpy road, last night simply reinforced just how much work is required to set the ship sailing once more. Let's hope that a few of the floating voters who turned out last night see the game for what it was (a lesson by the very best in the business), can see a couple of the green shoots of recovery and don't desert us for another twelve months or until the next cheap ticket offer! As Wilf so eloquently states above, the long suffering hardcore are well used to knocks and disappointments when it comes to our club, we will be here no matter what, let us hope a few of the uncommitted/unconvinced stick by us as well. If last night's game had been against anyone else, it would have been a joy to watch Wigan play in that manner, but as we were the opponents it made for a painful night's '[i:15jhqykm]entertainment[/i:15jhqykm]' It's a strange feeling admiring someone as they are giving you a good kicking!! but that was how last night felt to me. We simply need to be realistic here, chalk up last night to experience and move on to the (ongoing) job in hand, the long rebuild of Hull Fc, which is happening but only slowly right now. Hopefully there are better times ahead and I get the feeling that virtually every poster on here recognises that it will take time to right some many wrongs the club has made in the recent past, but the road back has begun. I just hope I get to witness the better times before I'm fully into my dotage when I may have difficulty remembering the previous night's game anyway!!! Hopefully before I reach that state of affairs!!