2 points off second

Yeah they're part time so that the players can continue to play for them but also afford to live in London. I get that there is a rebuilding process, but is Smith also responsible for signing a hooker this season to play scrum half, and another backup scrum half/hooker whilst retaining our long serving hooker and also Okunbor who looks to be one of our worst quota imports in a while.

There is promise in the youth, but this should be done alongside improvement in the first team, it's no good young players coming into a first team environment that shows indiscipline and poor ball handling skills, or they pick up those traits also, and the club doesn't improve. All head coaches should be tasked with develop homegrown players, but our head coach isn't getting good performances out of his first team currently and it needs to change, or the scale of the rebuild gets even bigger

Well that was hard work to watch and it was hardly Saints or Wigan we were playing, but a team that many pundits predicted wouldn't win a game all year. The fact we actually managed to win a game in the last minute has to be a plus but otherwise we just played dumb rugby, ran down blind alleys and read the game poorly. Today I think any other Super League club would have beaten us easily. Yes we have injuries and suspensions but it's hardly inspiring is it? It's going to be a long tough season and one that would threaten our coach under normal circumstances but with the coach we have who else do we get. Getting rid isn't the answer. Whether its our financial situation or what I don't know but we have let so many good players go and today showed that we haven't replace any of them like for like. we have some good youth but without some real inspiring father figures out there they'll eventually struggle. particularly when they re surrounded by colleagues who show a lack of any sort of direction. Catalan will be tough indeed. sadly and rather embarrassingly I like many on here have never felts so low about a season.

And doesn’t look like he wants to play half back?

Hardly got involved in our attack until later on?

Made some mistakes which I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t make playing for the kiwis?

Why he isn’t played at hooker is beyond me!

Us signing Nu Brown is similar to Rovers signing Hiku, signing a player for the sake of it to get them to play in a position they don't excel in

Russell certainly showed a few players how to return the ball, every carry was like his life depended on it, great energy and enthusiasm. Let's hope it rubs off on a few of our younger players.

Embarrassing afternoon. Poor discipline all over the pitch. Bombed 2 trys which would have made it less nervy. Won’t win many games against anyone with our discipline.

Can I have the lottery numbers for next week then because you seem to know a lot about what’s going to happen in the future.I agree with most of your post which actually surprised me as normally your a moaning bugger for no reason comment removed

This is what we need to learn to expect now , a poor bottom half of the league team , who won’t challenge for trophies for a good few years . Quicker people realise that the better , we are not a big club anymore. Only way that will change is if someone puts money into the club like a few other clubs or Pearson comes into some money some how .

We need to cope with adversity better, that's what the likes of Wigan and Saints do.

Take the sin binning of Russell, within a couple of minutes we had a great chance in the corner where he would have been attacking. Okunbor and Tuimavave make a right horlicks of an overlap, we lose posession and promptly give away a penalty.

Weve massively underfunded the half back position and i know some are lauding morgan smith, but hes not the answer at all, i have him down as being tony smiths game management on the pitch and for me its our biggest flaw glaringly.

Alot bagging Sao for the offload, but why on the 5th is morgan smith giving to sao that far out instead of kicking??

I said this before the game, Nu Brown needs to be at hooker with Balmforth off the bench adding some attack. Look at Martin and Stavely who are playing really well, yet were proceeding with a way past his sell by date Houghton.

I quite enjoyed the game, in an ideal world we stuff london but weve our 1st choice props missing, an aldi price hooker in smith and tony smith dragging his over balmforth in a team thats lacking attack and creativity.

Russel, ashworth, walker, martin, staveley all really good
I thought okunbor looked busier, unlucky with the ball strip he didnt get.

Hes got big decisions to make on jordan lane and houghton soon and i think he l frustrate the fans further by keeping them in at the detriment of the team.

With most back id have to go something like this from what ive seen so far.

Walker
Martin
Sutcliffe
Carlos
Mcintosh/russell/tindall
Trueman kicking duties
Hoy
Eseese
Nu brown
Ashworth
Staveley
Okunbor
Sao

Subs
Balmforth
Pele
J brown
Jebson/lane

Until investments made in the way of marquee signings were majorly lacking quality in key areas. No excuses next season, no covid handcuffs

Truth be told I think Smith has had his hands tied from day 1, when you have to give away your best player to sign a scrum half in your first few weeks tells you the story of what he inherited.

Clifford leaving late in the season left us in the lurch and we missed out on numerous targets, I think part of the reason we got Brown was a hail mary signing. It may work it may not, given his 1 year contract. I doubt he would have being the highest priority to sign and maybe the thinking is he wants Smirh and Trueman in the halfs which will put Brown at hooker. That is something we speculate.

Im getting the same message from the club time and time again, peanuts is going into the first team and that is being reflected. Almost as if the task is turn our youth team into world beaters, that certainley wont happen overnight. Until we get a decent spine other players wont be at there best either too.

We are definetley having to sign scraps, the recruitment shows that. I find it baffling Pearson finally appoints a proven RL coach then gives him a shoe string budget.

You know what they say. If can win whilst playing poorly, it's the sign of a good team.

First points on the board. It's onwards and upwards.

Bring on the Dragons for us to slayer.

I couldn't decide if London are better than they are estimated or we are poorer than I thought?

I couldn't understand Houghton being shoehorned back into the team. We were out of balance just to accommodate him.
NZ international hooker or an ageing non international hooker, it's a no brainer for me.
Nu at 9, Smith at 6 and throw young Charles in at 7 to start. It's good for his development and shows faith in the youngsters because we need their youthful exuberance desperately in our team of clueless plodders.
Smith may not have the financial backing for expensive signings but defensive line speed, attacking structure and discipline are all within his remit and can anyone say there's been any improvement?
We seem to be spending more on backroom staff but not seeing an improvement in the team.
Not sure Tony is the man any longer, has the game passed him by?

Asked by Hull Live why Hoy missed out, Smith replied: "It was just a team selection call based on combinations. It was an opportunity for somebody else to show what they can do in the half-back position.

Is he the new Joe Biden?
He cant remember we have already tried Smith/Brown combo