we were stood right under posts i can say for certain that wilsheres kick went over!! which wudda made it 16-16. but anyway im sure we'll come good again!

I thought the result was just about right and that Hull were marginally the better side over the 80 minutes. Having said that, our guys really gave it a go and I'm pleased they got some decent applause from us at the end. A few weeks ago we were playing like clueless amateurs. Now we look like a Super League team.

I've got no complaints about the ref and let's not forget that we got the benefit of the doubt on two try decisions from the video ref. The officials were not the reason we lost. We lost because of silly penalties and carelessness when we had the ball in our hands.

I hope John Wilshire shrugs off a night to forget and has a stormer next week. This guy's won a lot more games for us than he's lost and if I were the coach I'd have told him after the match that his is the first name on the team sheet for Edinburgh.

There were a lot of things to enthuse about from our point of view. Not the least of these were standout performances from some great young kids who qualify for England. I think we sometimes forget just how young players like Myler, Ratchford, Adamson, Turner and Sidlow are. Add to this two tries for Darrell Goulding on his debut.

In Cashmere we've got a big powerful guy who's capable of gaining ground and offloading superbly. Stapo has obviously cottoned on to this and that combination for the Myler try was a joy to watch.

Lastly, let's give some credit to opposition. I remember after we beat Hull in the cup several of their fans came on here and were very gracious in defeat. Hull have had tough time themselves over the last few weeks and they ground out a win that they just about deserved.

All in all I enjoyed the game - disappointed that we threw it away with some silly mistakes and though the ref seemed to give puzzling decisions at times (Rob Parker being penalised for offside after the ball had played the man which led to a Hull try for instance) I don't think he was the reason we lost.

On other points raised - the ref & touch judges being in Hull colours for the first half just beggars belief - here is what the laws of the game say:

"Colours 4. (e) Referees should inspect the colours to be worn by the teams before the players enter the field of play so that, if a change is necessary, the start of the game is not delayed.

Clubs not wearing their registered colours should be reported to the appropriate authority by the Referee unless the reason for not so doing is self-evident or known beforehand."

Now if they have to inspect both teams shouldn't it have been pretty obvious that there was great scope for confusion? The fact that they changed at half-time rather proves the point!!

On the disagreements over the goal kicks - again the rules say this:

"Judging kicks 11. If a Touch Judge is of the opinion that a goal has been scored he shall raise his flag above his head. If the kick is unsuccessful he shall wave his flag in front of him and below the waist.
If there is no disagreement between the Touch Judges their decision shall be accepted.
In the event of disagreement, the Referee shall decide.
If the ball passes near to one upright, the Touch Judge assigned to that upright is in the better position of the two to decide whether the ball has passed inside or outside the post and, in the event of disagreement, the Referee should be more inclined to accept this particular Touch Judge’s
decision."

So there you have it - ultimately it's the ref's call!!

Many thanks to the BBC Super League show for not showing the main talking point concerning last nights game against Hull FC ie: 'The Goal That Never Was'

The main thing for me over the last 3 weeks is the players have started to play for the shirt. You can Forgive defeats as long as the effort is there and the lads seem to have settled into a decent team that can only get better in the next 3 seasons. Wilshere did not have the best of games but everyone can have an off day but the resurgence of the team seems to of come about since he got moved to fullback. One big plus was Gouldings performance. He showed great character to play so well after his nightmare debut. We can really looking forward to the weekend in Edinburgh and hopefully a good performance and 2 points

Completely agree.
We are far more competitive.
Wilshere is a top player and was simply suffering loss of confidence because of the start he had.
When refs give penaties for off side from between the posts drop outs ,you always worry !
He didn't cost us the game,though.
We have had the rub of the green in recent weeks ,and but for Myler dropping the pass after a tremendous Sidlow break we would have won.
Well done to the team AND coaching staff

I'm lead to believe that Hull informed the referee beforehand that they didn't want to wear any black because it was a sunny day and the black would generate even more heat onto the players.

All-in-all I don't think the colour of the shirt the ref was wearing had any bearing on the first half score.

While I can understand some of the grumbles on here from my point of view we've come on leaps and bounds. This is the 1st game i've seen in ages as I've had to miss the last 4 due to work commitments. The team I watched last night is unrecognisable from the team that I last watch play. Yes we're making mistake and dropping off tackles still, but it didn't seem to happen as often. We looked a lot more dogged in defense and when getting the ball out to the wings we were a much better attacking force.

My one criticism would be towards the end of the game when it was clear that Smith was injured why didn't we get him sub'd? Maybe we'd used all our subs I'm not sure but if Hulll had twigged and gone for a kick behind him with Calderwood chasing I'm sure he'd have been up a certain creek without a paddle.

But in alll I was very much encouraged by what I saw and think that this team could have another couple of wins in them before the season ends.

penalty count was 9-7 and for the forward pass in Hull I don't see how we can really complain about refs, swings and roundabouts!Impressed with the crowd consdiering Utd were at home so were hull v liverpool and it was on sky.Hopefully we may see a few more fans back there next home match as it was a fairly entertaining game even if it was littered with mistakes.

the blue and white is our AWAY KIT

That is what I was thinking too



I definately thought it went over though.

You ought to visit the Hull page if you want to see some real moaning.

I thought the ref was okay and was pretty consistent with his decisions and I don't think Salford were really ever in the game. The interception was against the run of play and then Salford breached FC's defence with one good try but, apart from the dropped pass which would have probably provided another try (the 2nd half try was dubious and came from a kick anyway), that was it. I think Hull's defence was firm and also think Salford's defence was pretty good throughout. Both teams looked a little careful but that's to be expected on Hull's current form - I think people often forget that you can only play as well as the opposition allow. It was a dour encounter but Hull needed to grind out a win which they did.

I have a few final points to make about Saturday.

1. THE REF - I don't necessarily think he cost us the game. But he was bad and my point is that I am saying this too often whether or not it is against Salford. They are professionals and are simply not good enough across the board.

2. THE SHIRTS - Away shirts were brought in to avoid colour clashes, therefore if there is no clour clash the main shirt should be worn. This includes Salford (why on earth they choose to wear a black shirt in summer rugby is beyond me anyway but particularly when there is no clash). This crept in years ago when Warrington insisted on wearing their away kit to away matches regardless of a clash and actualy created one by weraring red and green at salford. That being said the referees really should've known better than to wear blue. I'm not sure how much difference it makes to players - not being out there - but it casued some confusion at times for suppoters in the glare of the sunlight.

3. WELL DONE SALFORD - Cut out the simple errors and we are playing some decent stuff at the minute. Some more wins this year to add to the ones that certain people in the media said we wouldnt get.

Robbie said last night there was some confusion at one point when they thought the touchjudge was the Hull winger, so the shirts could effect a move if you just glance.