From a rovers point of view, loved Kemble as a fullback. He was an advocate of the golden rule when facing a kick. Never let it bounce! Him and Fairburn were probably the best two fullbacks in the league at that stage.

I saw Kembles 1st game for us,was a A-team game on a sat afternoon at Fev.Fev had the ball and booted it downfield,now we was waiting for the ball to bounce and roll about until the fullback picked it up like we was used to.Kemble had other ideas,he was positioned further up the line and dived about 6ft in front of him so the ball didn't bounce,caught it about 6" of the floor,rolled over,sprang to his feet and launched a counter attack.We was all stood there jaws dropped and that was the Fev fans.He did it a few times,caught every bomb and joined the line in attack.....Kemble the finest I have ever seen as FB in a FC shirt

Think you need 3 teams pre-50's ,keep ball at all costs till4tackle rule then 4-tackle rule onward
Don't remember Keegan letting ball bounce and after he tackled you be no quick play the ball,mast stayed down and another player played. The last poster you never show Kemble while at Hunslet then

If we are talking wingers, I'd suggest Bruce Ryan (Australian who played for Hull in the late 1940's) should be the first winger selected. I've followed Hull since 1975, but my Dad watched them every season from 1940 until his death earlier this year.

Without hesitation, my Dad always said that Bruce Ryan was by far the best player he ever saw play for Hull and he saw most of the players discussed on this thread, including Whiteley, Norton, Sullivan, Keegan, The Drakes, Sterling, all our NZ stars etc.

My dad watched from 1913 to 1968 and the 2 best wingers he saw play for Hull were Billy Stone and Bruce Ryan. My favourite will always be Ryan who was an excitement machine having speed,power and guile. Was devastated when he left for Leeds? In wingers I have seen in my League watching he ranks in the top six with Brian Bevan the standout supremo in this position.

It's very hard to put a list together when a lot of the players have never been seen by anyone alive.

I have no idea how good Joe Oliver was, but the fact that he is our top points scorer (and perhaps always will be), and will forever be immortalised by Old Faithful means he probably has to be included somewhere.

What about the first Australian to score a try against Gt Britain who stayed in England to play for Hull and became their first player to score 100 tries? Also won a Challenge Cup final with them. Played in the centre so maybe would find it difficult to be included .

His name was Jim Devereux and he had a long career with Hull starting in the late 1900's and finishing in the mid-20's.

I think we should be able to trust other people's opinions, as obviously the fan base on this forum covers many eras.

For instance, take the Full Back position. Some younger fans on here may say that Prekkie was the best Full Back that we have had, based upon who they have seen play over the past 10-15 years. I was lucky to see all of Gary Kemble's career and can honestly say that while Prekkie was a great player for us, Kemble was awesome and another level as a player. However, I never saw Arther Keegan, therefore if someone (or someone they knew) came on here who saw both Keeagn and Kemble and said Keegan was better, then I would trust that view.

I made the comment earlier about Bruce Ryan. I have had three different people who saw him play, tell me that he was the greatest player that they had seen play for Hull and as they watched Hull for 60+ years, then piecing a team together becomes easier.

I saw both keegan and kemble play ,both very different so hard to say who was best.Keegan without doubt was the best tackler i have ever seen ,kemble was great coming of his own line and his craft and speed were his strengths but who is better.... a draw

Nice article about jim devereaux on wiki.

I have a good friend who sits with me in the East Stand who has been supporting FC for over 75 years.He is a sprightly 82 and still is as passionate about fc today as he was when he started,he tells me.
He has seen so many great players that have worn the black and white shirt but when ever wingers crops up in conversation the one name that always comes out first is Bruce Ryan.So I reckon I will go with him for one of the wingers.
Incidentally, the guy keeps records on a season to season basis on FC that go back donkeys years.So if any one is struggling for any info that maybe you cant find on google,let me know he might be able to help.
Happy New Year to one and all.

As a previous poster said, the rules of the game have changed so much that comparing across eras is very difficult.

I remember the shock of the 10 yard rule in 83-84 - suddenly a few of our good players looked quite poor, and that was just one of the changes in 150 years.

When looking at very old matches (50's and 60's) you see players with less respect for possession, flinging out more wild passes etc because they had a good hooker that could win scrums. They probably would struggle with the more conservative (dare I say Aussie ?) style of rugby nowadays.

Still, it makes for a good discussion as a good player could easily adapt their style and wouldn't be any less of an athlete.

hooker is probably the classic case of the role that has changed, when scrums became less competitive the hooker became more of a pivot rather than a dependable ball winner skilled in the dark arts of the scrum. in my time watching the game, the role of the loose forward has changed a fair bit too

I have only been watching since the mid 90's, but generally I consider my knowledge of past players and the clubs history to be pretty good. However I can honestly say I didn't know anything at all about Bruce Ryan until this thread. I've seen the name a few times in books etc. but I couldn't have told you a thing about him. So it's interesting that lots of people rate him so highly.

BBC Sport website has a piece about the 150 year celebrations on it at the moment. interestingly the banner picture features 13 hull greats. is this the club's all time greatest 13? if so the challenge is on