To me you need an overhaul and have done for a while. You can't build a team around mental midgets like Westerman, Sneyd and Pryce and expect to compete over a season. Add in a big, strong, lazy set of props and a weak bench, and a 12 year old as a coach and it's recipe for complete mediocrity.

Why wasn't any of this match officials fault?

It's usually the default reason.

most of us has to endure the 80s and 90s before we experienced the high of the last decade, Leeds fans have more than paid their dues. Its a club built on the academy instead of imported success (with a few quality imports added in)

I think Hull's problem is that they've never really even tried to build a team. They've just signed players each season and hoped they'd do ok rather than investing in and building a team for the long term. Personally I think the biggest mistake they made was not to build a team around Richard Horne as captain 10+ years ago. He could've been Hull's Sinfield/O'Loughlin/Wellens/Briers

Don’t talk to me about endurance, I’ve had forty odd years of it, with a highlight of a C.C final on my Rugby League C.V.

Paid your dues, I’m practically bankrupt

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I'd love to see how many missed tackles there were in that half.

The flapping of hands at tackles (when they got anywhere near the players because the gaps were so huge) was embarrassing. The gaps were idiotic. No attempt to wrap the ball. Leeds to abliterated us. It was like watching the Huddersfield play off game again.

Just how do you correct that?

Westerman didn’t miss, was it put on report, because it looked to have more malice than say, the Ah Van incident

.

Maybe Hull players should spit their dummy at refs over knocks on they have 'seen' more often....

I agree there hasn't been a plan to build a team for a long long time. We are still reeling from Cooke walking out on us in 2007 and never replacing him properly!

that said to build a team you first need a competent coach, and we haven't actually had a proven head coach since McRae joined us via the Gateshead merger in 2000, since then we've only had assistants (Kear, Sharp, Agar, Gentle and now Radford)

Radford in.

Hasn't this been obvious for years though? People laughed when I tipped Hull to finish 3rd from bottom last year, to their credit they managed to prove me wrong by finishing 4th from bottom but the squad as a whole is barely SL standard.

Not sure why Radford was complaining about a short turnaround either, Saturday-Thursday is no different to Sunday-Friday which is something all clubs go through multiple times in a season. Also they'd just had two weeks off prior to the last game.

Yeah losing Cooke was a blow.

To be honest I think you've lacked a top CEO who can look longer term and participate in the signings of players. Because, ideally, your players will be there longer than your coach.

I have no in-depth knowledge of how things operate at Hull, it's just how it appears to me from the outside, but I sort of view Hull FC as a smaller version of the RFL/RL as a whole - just about recovered from a disaster, made some progress, decent potential, but a bit adrift and rudderless with little/no long term thinking or planning.

Very, very impressed with Leeds. Once they got a roll on in the 2nd half & started playing at such a high tempo it's difficult to stop that momentum. Any side in SL would struggle to stop that momentum as you're always on the back foot.

The worrying thing for Hull was how easy Leeds got that momentum & go forward at the start of the second half.

I'm staying a touch more cautious.

There were points at this time last year where it looked like nobody would touch Leeds. We ended the season with a worse record than the Broncos.

It was a fantastic half of rugby from leeds. their interchanges were timed to perfection too.

At half time Hull went into the sheds focusing on the fact they kept Leeds scoreless, whereas Leeds could see there was only 2 tries in it. You could see them smarting when they came out for the second half.

God knows what McDermott said at half time, but it worked....great to watch at times though it pains me to say it

, that was possibly the best 40 minutes of attacking rugby league i've seen for years.....even McGuire who was appaling in the 1st half and looked like he wanted to get on a bus home looked something similar to when he was at his peak.

Hull were bad but on that showing i doubt many teams could have lived with Leeds last night.

The impression I had was that Leeds had done very well in a first half where Hull had put everything in, to be still well in the game. After the break, it was clear Hull hadn't recovered from their first half efforts and they came out off the pace, whereas Leeds had seen that Hull were knackered, and came out to play at high speed and to run Hull ragged. Which they did, and it was great to watch.

Hull weren't "bad", they were just out-thought and out-played by a team that found a red-hot spell and used highly intelligent tactics and interchanges. That is part of it, but it also co-incided with some superb individual efforts coming off, such as Singleton's or Watkins's breaks. And that is part of it too, but if Leeds did that to a full-strength side I would be more impressed. Great effort from Leeds and very entertaining, but I take into account that Hull ran out of bodies and thus petrol.

Just like Widnes did against Leeds 2 weeks ago. Funny that.

I think the main reason for this good start is that for the first time in a few years the Leeds' bench looks really strong.
Hopefully we can keep it up and avoid too many injuries though.

You're not one of these blinkered fans that refuses to accept Hull couldn't field a full fit squad and that was a significant factor in them running out of steam? I mean it's up to you of course, I just prefer reality myself. I gave Leeds plenty of credit and enjoyed watching, but it doesn't do to ignore FC's well-documented problems. Te purpose is just to put the performance in context, not to slag Leeds off, and indeed I pulled up someone who said Hull "were bad" which just isn't the case, and is unfair. To both teams.

Yes thats me, totally blinkered since 1981 !



Hull must be bad to run out of steam within 30 seconds of the 2nd half starting though, crikey.

Have Leeds come out of the blocks to quickly? Will it be there in Oct?

Watkins was shown how average he is in the recent internationals. OK with the ball in hand, dreadful in a structured defence.

0/10 terrible effort

Not really. We won last night in 40 mins, beat Hudds thanks to 30 mins. Ran away from Widnes and HKR late on.....not even come close to an 80 mins.....still plenty to come and the new structure/playoff format means no room for 'saving something'

the 70s werent too bad I was there in 77 and 78 but the 80s and 90s were the wilderness years. Every star signing brought hope but all to no avail until the club looked to its own acadmeny and havent looked back since.

There is a certain culture that has been hanging around the club for many a year, until this is completely eradicated you can sign whoever you want, you just wont get it done.