Despite a good dig yesterday it looks like our season is over by June

What do we do ? Can't keep saying "next season" all the time

Likes of Clifford hoy taylor litten Trueman we can build around

But Likes of fash cator lane give everything but are too small and don't put any fear into top teams like Ellis minchello manu did

Cator and Lane are too small and need to be replaced imo. Cator a decent squad player but we need two rough d south sea islanders or the like in the back row imo. Fash not great going forward yesterday but tackles like a man twice his size and put Walmsley on his yesterday with a big tackle

This season almost every Hull FC knew and accepted this was very much a transitional season given the obstacles of the contracts and salary cap restrictions. The discussions on here before the season started was almost every one agreeing that a transitional season would be ok and acceptable as long as there where signs of genuine improvement is the way we played and performances.
I don’t think there is much argument that since TS has come in despite an indifferent start the club is most definitely improving in just about every aspect and real changes are and have been made.
Anyone who seriously thought we would do anything to put up a serious challenge is either the greatest optimist or delusional.
Whilst any real chance to win any silverware went yesterday the season is far from over as the improvements are there to build on as we continue improving to the end of the season.
Hopefully with a decent chance of competing next season with some good recruitment for 2024.

Theres still a chance for the 6th position in think . I will be interesting to see how well we go second half of the season after the diabolical collapses of the last couple
Also we still would like to see some of the young fringe players given a go .
Still a bit to squeeze out of this season i hope .

7 home games left 5 away, 2 or 3 of those away gamed winnable, apart from saints at home on Thursday, 5 or 6 home wins is minimum, could give us an extra 16-18 points


Providing the squad stays fit and no more daft bans!

Brad Fash is 5ft 10.

Paul Gallen is 5ft 10.

Are you seriously telling me that you wouldn't have had Paul Gallen playing for Hull FC simply because he was too small?

Gallen was one of the best forwards in the world

Fash isn't even our best forward, he's 27 aswell btw not a youngster anymore

Without taylor and satae our pack lacks any power

Fash Lane and cator all 5ft 10 or under it does make a huge difference

You need players like Fash in your squad, cheap works hard and is rarely injured. Same with Cator (apart from injuries).

We need to sign more quality and not waste quota spots so these are guaranteed placed in the 17.

Yep, we'll finish around 10th, out of the cup, low risk of relegation, low chance of making the playoffs, hopefully the rebuild starts to gain pace in the next few months and we've actually got something to look forward to next season

What an unusual subject to start a discussion on knowing that we were never ever going to challenge this year. I feel like some people have to purposely display their morose outlook on everything to prove that they’re a ‘been there and seen it all’ FC fan. Dwelling on negativity does no good. Since the home fans have simply switched to appreciating the effort the boys have put in, the atmosphere at the MKM has been so much better. Positivity breeds positivity. Let’s just appreciate the small gains we’re making.

Why shouldn't we challenge?

Leigh are challenging

Salford last few years

Don't need 17 world class players to challenge in super league

Saints the benchmark but the rest aren't anything special

Apart from the fact there was something seriously wrong with the club’s culture?

Talent isn’t everything. Getting a new coach in and their strategies and nuances in place and working certainly is though.

Season over? No it's not for two reasons.

The obvious reason is, a playoff spot is still all to play for. There's 12 games left. 8 wins gives us a winning record which, with 6 playoff spots, should get us in. Points difference might be a problem, but it's still achievable.

The second reason is. I know fans don't want to hear about jam tomorrow, but we are obviously building towards something good imo. I'm enjoying watching this new, hungry, Hull FC. We are competing hard in every game. Even if we don't make the top 6, what we do for the rest of the year will go a long way to shaping the team we see next year. The style and the systems we want to play with, the development of the younger players, the character building hard fought wins and defeats. We are growing as a team and I'm looking forward to the rest of season regardless of where we finish.

Great post. I must admit that, prior to Smith's arrival, I had no idea where this team would end up and was seriously disillusioned, with what felt like wasted opportunities at the forefront of my frustration. Undoubtedly, the squad we had from 2016 did under achieve, Wembley aside, we really should have made a GF, players like Mini and Ellis, Kelly, Talanoa, Sneyd don't come around often and you cannot help but wonder what a good coach could have achieved. I am not bagging Radford , he gets my eternal thanks for the 2 cup wins, but we still endured some horrible hammerings and the culture, prevalent in some of the senior pro's was all wrong. Now we at least have some excitement and enjoyment, from a team with probably half the talent of it's predecessors' . Some astute signings will improve us and with a growing belief and togetherness among the squad, we can definitely build again and develop from within the academy.

I'd be happy with 9th place given where we were. Confident of a playoff place in 2024.