The Challenge Cup final needs moving to the end of the regular season IMO, we should have been talking about a 1st vs 4th crucial game last night, not how fatigued are Hull and how long will they last. I doubt Warrington will be doing much at Catalan tonight either so thats another 'dud' game for the TV.

no dont be daft!

why we have a team squad of around 25-30 players not 17!

even with a weaker team last night it still took saints 70 minutes to kill us off

castleford should'nt have had to rely on hulls' result last night, its their fault they never made the four, nobody elses'

No one seemed to complain when Hull rested players the week before the final.

Managing the squad over the season is a significant part of a mangers role

The key question is Did Hull resting players help Wigan. Answer. NO


Did hull resting players disadvantage Wigan. Yes.

Therefore the answer to the question is NO hull should not be fined .

Can't see any why the CC final can't be brought forward to the month of July allowing more recovery time for the finalists before the Super 8's begin. I think we have about 5 to 6 weeks between the quarter final and semi final, in that amount of time its easy for the comp to lose momentum and neutral interest.
We know the BBC control the schedule, perhaps the RFL should send the comp out to tender on there own terms and give ITV the rights to bid for the event.

The op was being deliberately provocative with the question but, the answer is clearly no and to be fair to Hull, they are chasing the treble so, they have to manage their squad in the right way and after winning the Challenge Cup, I seriously doubt that they are too bothered about the Saints result.

They made it clear with the 19 man squad they selected so no issue for me. The only problem would be if they named their strongest possible 19 man squad and then turned up on match day with a load missing.

Luck shining on Saints again though. 3rd season in a row they've faced the Cup winners the week after Wembley and got a much needed win.

They only rested a few players who may well have had knocks from previous weeks. What a nonsence thread.

If we are going to move the CC again we need to get it back to may, perhaps the last weekend bank holiday after all the football is done.

regards OP, no they shouldn't be fined.

Why does it have to be on a bank holiday weekend? Just put it on a normal Saturday around June or July, travel and hotels would be cheaper. Magic however should be moved to a bank holiday weekend.

They play the play off finals that weekend so wembley wouldnt be free.

Surely if a player is being paid by a club it doesn`t matter which one the coach names to play?

You can't put the Cup Final to the end of the season. The end of the season has to be the Grand Final. The closer you put the 2 finals the more they affect each other. I'd move it to around early/mid June and have a double header for the semi finals.

June would be ideal but i think BBC like a clear schedule during June/July for Wimbledon, Major football tournaments, Athletics and the like.

Would make sense though.

If you view the Challenge Cup and the the League as two separate competitions I can see the argument for separating the finals.

I prefer to view it as part of the season's competition and to win the "Double" is the mark of a great team because it is an achievement.

Would Hull have rested players if finishing top meant you were champions?

Only really Radford could answer that honestly. But just because we rested players, don't think that means we aren't bothered about finishing top.

Before this weekends games we knew that the equation was, win our last three and we will be top. That is still the equation. So whilst a win on Friday would have allowed us one slip up against either Wigan or Wakefield, it wasn't vital.

Beat Wigan next week and a home playoff is safe (barring an extraordinary PD swing). Then in all likely hood when we play Wire again there will be one point separating the teams and it will be a showdown for the hubcap.

If they flogged their tired players straight after an emotional and intense cup final, do you think they'd have a better chance of finishing top? I think they'd have a better chance of risking injury to key players going into crucial games.

Hypothetical.

Any ways, if Hul win their final 3 super 8 games they will finish top. It's still in their own hands.

Hypothetical.

Any ways, if Hul win their final 3 super 8 games they will finish top. It's still in their own hands.

1. Player safety, a fatigued player is more likely to sustain injury
2. A fatigued player even if they are a 'name' is not necessarily going to perform better than a squad player, this was clearly highlighted in the poor display after the Wigan semi-final in which Radford decided to play the same pack of forwards and they were listless to say the least.
Similarly after Catalans at home and a long streak of most of the first 17 playing week in week out Radford only rested Ellis against bottom team Huddersfield. We'd already looked flat on occasion and this was an ideal time to rest more bodies. To lose to Hudds in those circumstances should show that fresher squad players are often better than fatigued big names/first 13 players

Agreed........the intensity of effort that some players put into winning the cup final would have left them mentally drained and they would have a struggled to get up for the next game.

Throughout a season I suspect it's very rare for a team to actually have their first choice thirteen available, I think St Helens had four missing on Friday, Wigan had a few out the night before and Warrington had a few youngsters in the team at Catalan.

It's all about managing your resources and having your good players available for the crucial games.........that's what coaches get paid for.

Cas would be comfortably in the four if they'd had a fitter squad this season. Their injury record has been appalling. They're easily a top 4 side. No secret to why the only side they've lost to since the first day of July has been Warrington - they've got some players back fit.

Cas aren't "easily a top 4 side" or they would be in the top 4.

No question that they have had a heap of injuries this season and would have won more games if they had been able to field their first 13/17 every week but, Wigan, Wire, Catalan, Hull, Saints etc could use the same argument. Michael Mcilorum has been a huge miss for Wigan this season.

Castlefords offence, on it's day is the best in SL but, their defence isn't.