How did hall play in Eden's absence?

Typical Hall performance, sheer brilliance at times (70 m break leading to 1st try) coupled with really basic errors (failing to find touch on a pen, kicking out on the full on a restart).

Well at least hall and eden don't have a girls name which is vitally important.

I always liked hall at Hull. If only he could concentrate for 80 minutes he'd be a top player.

Still seems strange to drop your full back and play a centre there whilst playing a winger in the centre. Presume eden will come straight back in next week without playing a game to get some form back? Seems a bizarre decision but sandy must have his reasons

Indeed General , but not just the people you are so busy taking issue with...

It seems you have become convinced by Sandercocks excuse culture and are happy to perpetuate the rubbish he comes out with but it does not stand up to scrutiny..
If we take two recent games as examples of our "inexperience" which you cite as the reason we are a pretty poor SL team at the moment and that Sandercock is really just an unlucky Craig Bellamy..

The club record defeat at home to Wigan, a benchmark that has been set in our history, the team we had out that day, even allowing for a nineteen year old debutant , had an average age of 23 and had played an average of 65 top class games each... the Wigan team that ran in a record score with at times the worst resistance i have ever seen from a professional RL team also had an average age of....23..., they had admittedly played an average of 83 games each so perhaps we only have to wait 18 games for the Sandy magic to work and we are as good as Wigan according to your "experience " theory..

Going on to Castleford, and our team lacking 8 "automatic choices" according to the coach, our average age 24 with 77 appearances, the Cas average age 25 with 117 (the figures are somewhat skewed by them having Gilmour 35 and 440 plus appearances), so i fail to see this massive inexperience in either of these games nor any other for that matter...e.g our half backs against Cas had over 310 appearances between them against the Cas pair less than 140, this should really , really tell in a good coaches game plan if your theory is taken to its conclusion...that it didn't can only be a reflection on the coach and his preparation (or lack of it)..

Whilst of course we have had injuries and we do have players who will only benefit from more time and games, this can be said of EVERY SINGLE CLUB...our guys are not the only ones who are going to improve...there are players at every club who will go on to be much better.

What is of major , major concern is that the coach publicly stated at the outset of his contract that a major job of his was to improve the teams defence..in terms of spend and quality of player it is irrefutable that our defence is the worst it has been in the history of the club..this after 18 months of full time , professional training..i would suggest that the players who are going to improve would benefit even more from a coach who can coach defence.

For this appalling failure and the production and preparation of the team to produce the most abject performance in the history of the club and for constantly belittling the club with his excuses and complaints Mr Sandercock should be firmly shown the door...he is not what Hull Kingston Rovers are all about...

Got to say I agree with all you say and the last line is dead true he is not what HULL KINGSTON ROVERS are all about

Fantastic post. The current sandercock situation reminds me of the agar situation at Hull where every excuse in the book was rolled out regularly in his defence. From a Hull FC perspective I hope sandy stays

You diagnosed him as the Australian Agar last season, I think the comparison is unfair on the Wakefield coach who will succeed the great Bobby Goulding at international level.

Back to the game, to be fair, it looked like chase was on his game on sunday and I reckon they'd have given most teams a game. They were completely clueless in attack against us at the KC

Some fair and valid points but whilst the Wigan comparison is accurate in terms of experience, the physical preparation of the Wigan players which happened during their academy years, is far above what Rovers have been delivering and Sandercock has said it is a key area in need of address.

As far as the Cas game goes, our starting front-row of Walker, Carlile and Beaumont and their replacements Green, Griffin and Cox have not even got 100 SL games between them so it's not a coincidence that bulk of the penalties were conceded in the middle part of the field were they were defending (even though some other players conceded as well), hence the knock-on effect of the excessive starvation of possession - the worst I have ever seen in 22 years of watching Rovers.

As far as defence goes, whilst the stats are mathematical fact, I prefer to look much deeper in terms of where the tries are conceded and under what circumstances. i.e. the vast majority of out tries have been conceded on the back of excessive penalty counts which have generated fatigue. It's fair to point to the coach and question if there is something fundamentally wrong but given the fact the team have produced several solid performances defensively, the indications are that the fault lies with the players' inconsistent individual performances rather than the implemented systems. The main area this season where we have conceded is on our right edge where we've had 4 different right edge pivots, 5 different second-rowers, 3 different centres and 3 different wingers and this type of merry go-round will hinder any coach's systems taking effect. If the board would have spent during the off-season to get Ferguson (a player who wanted to come but the board wouldn't sign), we would have had more experience and continuity on that side.

If you look at Jake's comparisons to this season's scenario to 2009 is chalk and cheese - absolute utter bollox; and here's why. For most of the 2009 season, our right edge of Dobson, Newton, Webster and Colbon played virtually every game; a fringe NRL half-back (in dream team form), an NRL winning 80minute second rower (also in dream team form), a Tri-Nations winner and a proven, solid winger brought up through the Wigan system. All of these players were proven ready made players where all Morgan had to do was tell them they were playing on Sunday where as Sanderock has had to mix and match with very young and inexperienced players.

I agree that somethings Sandercock says aren't too clever and I'd prefer he'd cut some of it out but he's been used to practicing and delivering at Champion clubs like Manly were he had a massive part in developing champion (yes champion) players; i.e. NRL winning and World Club Challenge winners and I see massive improvements in several of our young players.

The bottom line is the club has not effectively prepared itself for the transition of the current market choosing to persevere with average (but experienced) players who blocked the paths of those who are finally making their way in the first team, albeit in testing circumstances.

The only way another coach is going to improve things is if they take short cuts like coaches like Agar and Morgan who signed ready made players but with a consequence of constantly fighting annual "devolution" by replacing one has-been after another, something Hudge said he was eager to escape because of what he termed the "glass ceiling" effect of following this regressive strategy and instead trying to create a squad of young players with the potential to be great players and also the chance of serving 10 years plus at the club therefore enabling a lower player turn over and more continuity. Which is why Sandercock was brought to the club, particularly because of his work at Manly.

The most successful people are those who can take criticism on the chin because right now Hull Kingston Rovers is like an episode of Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen nightmares where the proven, world class chef in Ramsey is telling some harsh truths to the folk in the restaurant, but they just won't listen and because of their delusions of grandeur.

Your metaphor for the calibre of Sanderchoke alludes to 'world class'?

You here all week?

I thought he meant himself.

Forgot about the monstrous ego. Silly me.