not expecting a win next week but we (fc) won't have the pressure of our own fans, press and tv expecting a win! pressure will be on warrington, not fc

This could be a big factor I think, most Hull fans are happy with a 6th place finish and a playoff win, as this season is a 'transition' year and Gentle hasn't brought his own signings in yet. Therefore anything that happens now is a bonus, and the players can just go out and play with little pressure.

Hull are decent and I think injuries (a ridiculous amount for a good while) aside they could have finished around third or fourth.

It will be a tough game. We must not once think about Saint Helens, Langtree Park, Old Trafford or the Super League trophy. There is only one thing we must think about for the next six days and that is Wire v Hull.

We must play with a determination, cut out the mistakes that have plagued our season and take what we learnt from a select amount of high pressure games that we've played well in and won (Wigan home and away, Saints away, Huddersfield semi-final and Leeds final) and get this very tough job done.

Going to be a good one! think we will have to keep the ball alive, to increase our attacking options, when this works we have a great chance if it goes wrong and we turn the ball over through knock-ons and the like we will get thumped. But like a previous poster said, you have all the pressure.

There are 3 future Saints players playing for Hull. Foster, Turner, Manu.

I'm sure all us Saints fans will be wishing them well with their future endevours

What's the verdict on the Bens and Carvell?

Every word (especially the soubriquet "play-off bottlers"icon_wink.gif.
Apart from I wouldn't be miffed if we went out to Hull. My emotions may be a tad stronger.

The decline of Huddersfield, is more than a little alarming. It's bloody frightening, and show's a weakness in our league, with no real "successor" to take their place in the SL standings.
At the mo, I'd expext Fev to beat them

on superleague full time tonight it said all 3 will play next week

Expect a reaction from our boys, they'll want to right wrongs, think London then Wembley.

I hope so because we'll need them against Hull's forwards. If we're missing these three, then there is the potential for the likes of Watts and Lynch to dominate our pack. Even more important is that Westwood is back to defend against Willie Manu on our right edge defence.

Hull are a quality side, and they will be inspired by a vociferous away following. Nevertheless I expect a much improved performance, and as long as our forwards match their, then the quality of Briers and Hodgson should see us through.

Prediction: Wire by 12

-this-

well not expecting a win, but we are clearly a side in form scoring 150 points in 3 games and conceding 22. added to this is a lack of pressure as the away and lower placed side and no new injuries (for one of the few times this season), and it should be a close game. be better for us if westwood isn't fully fit and i think carvell will be out, and possibly hodgson.

Also not expecting to win, but hope we can come across and be competitive. Wire go in as favourites and rightly so, there is no way they can play as badly as they did agaisnt Saints and I'm sure they will come out all guns blazing. If we can keep you at bay for the first 20 minutes we have a good chance of producing an upset.

Brings back bad memories, us having Hull at home in the playoffs.

I still think my number 1 most disappointing moment as a Wire fan wasn't even last year against Leeds, it was in 2005 when we had Andrew Johns and lost to Hull in the first playoff at home. Hull then went and got smashed by 70 odd at Bradford the next week so it was a waste of time them going through!

Didn't Hull have a man sent off early on in that Bradford match though?

Kearney tired to decapitate Peacock.Iir.

I'm just hoping for a good game and for the ref to be invisible throughout.not much hope of that if I'm honest.

Anbody but Leeds or Saints in the final bored of them now.

that really was very disappointing....the hype around Johns had me believing we could go all the way....it made me totally forget that our pack contained the likes of Paul Noone.

It was Stuart Fielden actually, and having previously seen Jason Smith miss 6 months after Fielden raised his knee in a tackle Smith was attempting, shattering Smith's sternum, I didn't blame Kearney for the high tackle. Fielden was banned for two games, I bet Jason Smith felt happy with that after his season ending injury.

Anyway, back on topic.

Hope it's a good game and we manage to be competitive throughout. Wire have class all over the park but I think Hull's pack can more than match their's which hopefully will mean we have a chance out wide. There will certainly be a big Hull following so it should be a belting atmosphere.

See you lot on Saturday.

can see an embarrassingly low crowd on saturday. Only about 7500 home fans could be bothered to turn out last week.

It will be a decent crowd - I for one would like to run the rule over Smith's next club.

The gutwrenching thing about that was it wasn't really just hype, Andrew Johns was at the peak of his powers that season, he was one of the once in a generation players influential enough to win games on his own, NSW had beaten a better Qld side because of Johns that year, he'd come back from injury and been in storming form with Newcastle second half of the season, even though he was 31 he was at his peak.

Against English players who were not nearly in his league all he needed was a few games under his belt and he would have just been laying on try after try, so even though we were well off the pace of Saints, Leeds and Bradford in quality I thought Johns could have knocked those teams off.

Had we got past Hull, Bradford away with Hape and Vainikolo in the form they were would have been tough but with Johns in the team we could have done it. I thought Simon Moran had pulled off the biggest coup in sporting history and to be honest in all my time of watching any sport, us signing Johns is the most exciting thing and unbelievable thing that has ever happened.

That it went down so lamely and so quickly still rankles. I actually reckon it will rankle more, than if we lose to Hull this weekend, because any disappointment we feel this season will be tempered by the fact we have won the Challenge Cup.

From memory, sally, we did everything but score that night.
We knocked on their door all night, we just couldn't open it. Forced passes, panic rugby
Iirc, the only times Hull entered our 20m area, was to score tries (sign of a good side, that)
We threw the kitchen sink at them, but it was (at the time) "same old Warrington"
Johns was a Collossus in our sport, it's just a pity he came to a side with a lot of ok players, with a coach who was a bit of a Barak Obama (lots of nice orations, but not much in the way of substance). The dream was nice while it lasted. But that's all it was.
Fast forward another 12 months, and we do the "impossible" and turn over an in-form Leeds, after the debacle of the team bus being late (familiar coach in the oposition dugout), but then fall short against a dominant Bradford. Again, in the Bradford game, for half an hour, we throw the kitchen sink at them, but we PANIC.

Fast forward 6 years, to 72 hours ago. We've much better players, a better coach, BUT, we still panic.
Now, as I've said in another thread I couldn't go on Saturday night (work) but listened to the "commentary" (if you can call French and Rooney commentators), and I'm picturing the same old Warrington. Panic rugby, forcing passses etc. I didn't need depressing, so I deleted the match from Sky+, and just forgot about it.
This isn't blind faith, but we wont play that badly again. Smith's an intelligent man, he'll call them in, and address this. No need for bollockings, tea cups thrown, hairdryer treatment etc. Saturday will be a measured game. No foul ups. Just a regulation win (sorry to any Hull fans reading this). The same mistakes will not be made two weeks running.

Stains the week after, and the same measured approach will see us through. As it did in the beginning of August.

We played crap on Saturday. Live with it. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, and come out with 5h1t3 like Smith's not up to it/we're not a big club, tosh.

Smith WILL get this right. BELIEVE.

You've got me convinced. Maybe you should address the players on Saturday!

I have a dream......

Careful. He got shot if I remember correctly.