Remember a few people chuckling at the Cooke rumours!

Now the King is home, you've gotta believe that anything is possible for the club over the next few years.

Just wish the shop wasn't always sold out of the letters C, O, K and E though - dying to get the messiah's name on my shirt! Hope that helps!

How long has Azuie & Gene been GB eligible,

no wonder we lost the tri nations missing them out

Full Backs

Ben Cockayne
[iA.N. Other (Hardman or Hodgson if he becomes available)[/i

Wingers

Jon Steel
Andreas Bauer or Byron Ford
[i+ 1 big and fast winger[/i

Centres

Jon Goddard
Luke Dyer
[i2 new centres (Ryan Atkins if he becomes available via Wakefield relegation and Yeaman, dependant on contract situation)[/i

Halves

Paul Cooke
James Webster
Scott Murrell

Hookers

Ben Fisher
Mark Lennon

Props

Michael Vella
David Tangata-Toa
Makali Aizue
[i2 big props (Korkidas would be one if Salford relegated imo)[/i

2nd row

Jason Netherton
Mark O'Neill
[i2 second rows (a line breaker in the mould of Manu of Hull and maybe an aussie similar in style to Glenn Morrison from Bradford)[/i

Loose

Chris Chester
Stanley Gene

+ Dave Wilson. If Tandy goes well he could well be retained instead of macca or tangles who are both off contract. Unfortunate to be released would be Gannon, Ward and Morrison inparticular but to move on you may have to upset some people. Personally id keep o'neill but i think he could be released to free up a quota spot.

Giving a shopping list of 8 players.

Fitzgibbon


You need a running halfback to play alongside Cooke.

Much more pace in the backs, the likes of Ford and Bauer are not top six players.

A blockbusting prop and a blockbusting backrower.

People say we need blockbusting this, blockbusting that but to be honest, we don't!

Our forwards may not have broken the line but they always make yards over the advantage line.
They have set the platform so far this season to notch the points but our finishing has been under par.

IMO with two big three-quarters like Yeaman and Senior we would finish out wide more often. If you actually watch our games, notice how often we take the ball on our 20 metre line and make their 20 by tackle 4!
We play a territorial game rather than chance our arm like Leeds or St Helens. The only thing we lack is power in the centres.

And in comment about Fitzgibbon, he's continually performed in the NRL and at International level. Overrated??? Well tell that to the Aussie coaches who continued to pick him time after time. Don't tell me it was for his kicking when Andrew Johns was on the park.

Netherton or Fitzgibbon??? I know which one i'd pick and it's not because i think Netherton is poor, it's because of the talent Fitzgibbon has.

It's like saying Iestyn Harris is rubbish, well, he's not! Look at him play, he's in Super League and at the top end. Iestyn may not have performed for GB but he's far from rubbish or overrated.

Fitzgibbon was a super player, however he is nowhere near the player he used to be. 3 years past his best.

Rather than it being just about new players, I think working to reclaim and increase the fanbase must be the priority. We have the advantage of being where we are, but we have to prove that having two hull sides in the league is good for the sport. If I was NH, I'd be doing everything I can to raise the clubs profile again and get it more on an even level with hull. Get the players visiting local schools, get the kids wearing the shirt again, get a better club store and a propper credit card ticket line. Even re-considering the locaion of the stadium. As daft as it sounds, the location of the KC, surrounded by pubs, as well as its facilities, is a big reason crowds went up for city and hull when they moved there. We don't have that, so maybe the location of CP, and certainly its facilities, limits its pull to mainly 'die-hards'. Theres loads of teams that the rfl would love to have in superleague - quins, salford, catalans, a welsh side stc, but no matter who they sign, they'll always be going sideways whilst their support is small, thats one big advantage we can have over alot of clubs, if the club makes the right moves to exploit it.

all of which cannot be achieved without a succesful team (in relative terms)

I theory yes, but it also works the other way. Players will want to play for a well-supported club, and selling lots of shirts and tickets, can help buy better players. I'm not saying don't bother signing anyone, just make sure all the work off the pitch is done as well as possible.