I'm not so sure the issue is about the players we get in, i think it's more what we do with them when we get them.

Our kids are as good as the Wigan kids at ages 12-16. Our coaching and development of them during and from that point onwards is where the issue is for me.

Anyone got time to do a count of ex-players from any clubs playing SL ??

You or Wilfy

Off the top of my head our academy grand final winning side included the likes Ade Adebesi, Kirk Dixon, Tommy Lee, Louis Mcarthy Scarsbrook, Liam Higgins, Scott Wheeldon, Anthony Thackray, Danny Washbrook, Matty Dale and Mike Worrincy, all made decent enough players playing at a decent level, a lot of them failed to live up to there potential though.

There's definately an issue somewhere along the line, and agree with you that it seems to be around ages 16-18.

Our scouting doesn't seem to be the problem. We've signed a few lads from Fev recently, and I know of a few lads from Scarborough Pirates who used to be on the books. Wasn't Joe Westerman in our academy too?

The problem is fulfilling their potential. Tommy Lee for instance, was supposed to be a world beater, we turned him into a hooker/loose and bulked him up. Graeme Horne was supposed to be better than Richard etc etc.

Saints, Leeds, Wigan etc, all seem to have an endless production line on talent who can be called into the 1st team and slot straight in. The backbone of Leeds' Grand final winning of teams 07-09 was made up of Burrow, McGuire, Hall, Smith, Sinfield, JJB, Ablett, Burgess, Diskin and Bailey - all Leeds products. Saints had Graham, Roby, Cunningham, Lomax, Hargreaves, Foster, Wellens, Clough, Dixon, Emmit, Smith (11) and Wigan had Tomkins, Goulding, McIlorum, O'Loughlin, Hansen, Tomkins, Prescott and Farrell (icon_cool.gif, playing in the grand final on Saturday.

I think the problem lies with how we (both Hull teams) play these players when they get a chance. We tend to get an injury and then have to throw them in, but rather than playing them in there position of choice theres a shuffle round so they can be thrown on the wing.
We did it with Haynes a couple of years ago, promising full back, Briscoe was injured so what happens, we moved a winger to full back and slotted him on the wing, he got mullered. A lot of the excuses where that it would expose him too much at full back, surely his chosen position would be best bet. Kid never played for us again...

If Hull is such a hotbed of RL, why are the best two youngsters in the city not from Hull, Briscoe (fev), Watts (cas). Is it an attitude thing that Hull lads don't have it whatever it is.

W Godwin ( Bradford )
S Reardon ( Bradford )
N Scruton ( Bradford )
K Dixon ( Cas Tiger's )
L Higgins ( Cas Tiger's )
T Lee ( Crusaders )
J Thackray ( Crusaders )
P Lupton ( Crusaders )
G Horne ( Huddersfield )
D Brough ( Huddersfield )
S Briscoe ( Hull KR )
S Wheeldon ( Hull KR )
J Hodgson ( Hull KR )
C Hall ( Hull KR )
P McShane ( Leeds )
J Broughton ( Salford )
G Carvell ( Warrington )
P King ( Wakefield )
P Cooke ( Wakefield )
M Dale ( Featherstone )
R Divorty ( Featherstone )
T Saxton ( Featherstone )
D Maloney ( Halifax )
A Thackray ( Sheffield )
A Thackray ( Widnes )
C Thorman ( York )
I Bell ( York )
A Benson ( York)
J McLockian ( York )
M Micthell ( York )
K Peacock ( York )
N Freer ( York )
D Hill ( York )
P Stamp ( York )
D Tuffour ( York )
S Logan ( Canberra )
C Best ( South Sydney )

Lee is a classic example, he was very good, could strip a defence on his own.

We then bulked him up and turned him into a hooker, in the Cunningham mould, it just never worked.

We let Kirk get too big at one point too, that slowed him down

J Thackray ( Crusaders )?????? thought he started elsewhere??
1997–00 Hunslet Hawks
2000–02 Halifax Blue Sox
2003–04 Castleford Tigers
2005–06 Hull FC
2006–07 Leeds Rhinos
2008 Doncaster
2008–2009 Hull FC
2010– Crusaders RL

sorry jimmy though hutchie was about about were the fc ex-players were playing now

haha,he might have meant anthony thacks?? now at widnes?

could it simply be that anytime a young player gets to play first team rugby they get butchered from the terraces and the message boards if they try a few things that go wrong.im pretty certain the likes of tompkins,eastmond,macguire etc made a hash of plays when they were first breaking through but maybe didnt get as much abuse and their confidence wasnt as rocked.do we simply expect too much too soon

I've said this for a long time and it's no coincidence that our best coach since Brian Smith was in charge when the bulk of those better players came through.

On the other hand you could also ask how many top class footballers the area has produced, cricketers, swimmers, athletes, cyclists and world class business people?

Maybe it's just the general mentality and lack of ambition of people from this area that is the issue

aye, nobody mocks failure like hull folk and we tend to live for the weekend.hardly a good development ground after the initial breakthrough