Losing Lynch was a tough one but the person in charge of recruitment (that wasn't Gentle at that point btw) decided not to keep him or replace him like for like and still hasn't (& losing 3 props + ticks, Briscoe & effectively Macdonnel from 2013 there was plenty of cap). our props are bang average, oh for a Mick Scott or a fit Skerrett.

Trevor skerrett and mick harrison from what ive seen,though harold bowmans record speaks volumes.

i'll put the nominees up later tonight (didn't want this lost in the easter derby fallout). are there any more shouts?

OK so the proposed nominees for Prop are

1. Harold Bowman. Between 1921 and 1935 Bowman made 451 appearances for Hull putting him at 3rd on the all time list. During his career he scored 75 tries with a seasons best of 16. He also represented GB and toured Australia

2. Mick Scott. Scott is second on Hull's all time appearance list with 459 made between 1948 and 1963. A mainstay of the mighty pack in the clubs glory years of the 1950s he scored 43 tries and won 2 championship titles. Died in an accident on the docks at only 37.

3. Jim Drake. The elder of the Drake twins, Jim was the other prop in the fifties legendary pack. He made 243 appearances for the club scoring 38 tries.

4. Mick Harrison. Harrison was a stalwart of the side during the leaner years of the late 60s and seventies. A hard no nonsense figure he became the club's enforcer and his worth was recognised by GB for whom he played 7 times.

5. Trevor Skerrett. The welshman was signed in 1980 for 40k a significant figure then and a record for a prop. he played a key role in the success of the early 80s teams. He played 154 games for Hull scoring 18 tries. Only a series of injuries later in his FC career prevented a greater set of stats.

6. Karl Harrison. Along with Andy Dannatt and Lee Jackson, Harrison formed part of the great front row of the Brian Smith years. He was signed from Featherstone for 57k and made 86 appearances for hull, winning the Premiership trophy in 1991

Given we've moved on to the forwards, how does the back line look now it's complete?

[sizeStill think Tommy Finn is our greatest 7.[/size

Additional info on Mick......................... From 1953 to 1960 he played in 4 Yorkshire Cup finals, 3 consecutive Championship finals(a captain in one of the 2 winning sides), 2 Wembley Cup finals and played in the Hull team that won the European Club Championship in 56/57. In this period Hull each year competed in at least 1 final. Mick also played for England.

I've wondered in the past, when looking at Hull's list of honours, about the European Club Championship. Was it a full competition or a one off match against (most obvious possibility), the Champions of France? Hull being the reigning champions on this side of the channel, of course. Who did Hull beat in the final and where was it played? Was it a biggish deal at the time, say on a par with winning the Yorkshire cup, or more of a glorified exhibition game? Did the competition/game get played for a few years, or was it one of RL's quickly abandoned experiments?

Very demanding post, I know, but I like these curios that RL seems to be especially rich in.

It was a tournament held just the once and featured Hull and Halifax as English Champions and runners up from the previous season plus Albi and Carcasonne the top two from France.

Hull won the title with five wins and a draw from the six matches (Hull and Halifax's league games doubled as European Championship games). It seemed to have been popular, one of the games against Albi at The Boulevard was played on a Monday night due to a crowded fixture list and the attendance was 10,000. It was the third home game in four days after Carcasonne on the Friday and a league game with Bradford on the Saturday.

Mick Scott scored a last minute drop in the Albi game to earn Hull a draw. A big win over Halifax a week later won us the trophy.

I've got the programme for the Albi game (somewhere).

Interesting, thanks!

all the polls are actually still open but a few pages back. i've left them open to catch any occasional posters who may come on and i'll bump them up from time to time.
so far we have
1. kemble (close along with keegan)
2. sullivan
3. schofield
4. leuluai
5. Harrison

6. topliss
7. sterling

probably not the team i would choose but there's time for it to change

I went to the Monday night game against Albi and remember it being a great game. The fixture congestion was a major reason why the idea was subsequently dropped but the series did forge a good link between Hull and Carcassonne and Hull played friendlies with them from time to time.

Cannot leave Carcassonne without a mention of Puig Albert who was one of the most remarkable players that has ever been inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame. A brilliant goal and drop kicker he played full-back and was a chain-smoking,wine-drinking character who left tackling to others! Best to look him up on Wiki to get the full story. He had left Carcassonne when the 56/57 series was played and I saw him play for France.

Here's another one for you, the Spring Bank Orphanage Charity Committee Challenge Cup, played for until about the 50s or 60s from at least before WWI

Excellent re-call.

I've also got both programmes from our two home games.

I didn't realise that it only ran for one season. That means we are still the European Champions and BBC2 Floodlit Trophy holders. Perhaps we are too harsh on ourselves at times.