You don't expect a classic in cold, windy and wet conditions...but you've got to wonder where this sport is heading as a spectacle. Doesn't help that we've had two games in poor conditions in a row but across the league the game has become increasingly negative in recent years.

Players milking injuries to slow the game down, wriggling on the floor to win penalties and then taking the 2 because teams are scared of going for the 6 and losing possession, teams taking an age to form the scrum to again slow the game down. Referee's giving inconsistent calls, video ref decisions taking ages...add it all together and the game is slowly becoming everything we used to mock Union for.

We shot ourselves in the foot a lot tonight and didn't deserve the win, but yet again we lured in a lot of floating fans on cheap tickets and didn't put on a good 'show' Sitting for what seemed like hours in a cold, near silent stadium watching negative tactics isn't going to encourage fans to watch the game.

Not just HullFC's issue, I think its a issue for the entire sport at the moment, and proabably needs more rule changes to penalise 'timewasting' and to reward attacking play.

Luring fans in after good results and getting big attendances then failing to show up has been an FC trait for years. Tonight though Sneyd gave it away - he said we was prepared to play ugly cos of the conditions. Conditions that improved after 6pm yet we continued with these basic tactics whilst Cats tried to play more. Thats what f**ked us imo

Why is the game stopping for nearly every injury?
Head shots yes , but players are getting wise to it and feigning injury to slow things down . Catalan certainly had this tactic weighed off tonight !

Was particularly bemused when a Catalan player was getting treatment with what what looked like a cut to the face, why couldent he have been ordered off the field for that? He could clearly still walk! its making the game like American Football, one play and then a break.

Must say I was thinking the same thing. Amazing wasn't it how players were staying down after the slightest of tackles and as soon as the clock was stopped they hopped up and were fine. Just wanted a breather.

Yeah! .....And Fonua is the master at throwing himself on the floor at every play of the ball he is involved in and then appealing to the referee!

The sport has struggled in recent years and will continue to do so in a competitive marketplace. Great games are the exception rather than the norm these days.

WHen was the last time we made clean breaks on a regular basis

I think its crept in over the last decade or so, McGuire at Hudds was very into controlling the wrestle and this has led to more and cheap PTB penalties. The latest set of holding the ball in the scrum and throwing the ball into a player has taken it to a new level. More and more teams are going down the route of taking the 2 now as well, we'll be singing swing low soon.

Unless you have a vested interest in a game, ie its your team or you have a favourite most games are pretty dull and lacking in any great skill

Catalan played to a game plan and we followed their lead, think a couple of their players will miss a game or two after last night though.

Totally agree we need to introduce a clock at scrums and drop outs so you have so many seconds to scrum down or drop out or you get penalised like they have in Australia nrl also make it so players can't see the clock on the screen like they have introduced this year in NRL,it could easily be done with the time keeper as they can hear the ref anyway in communication system

there should also be a cap on the time the clock is allowed to run down when a kick in being taken at goal. At the moment 1 minute elapses before the timekeeper is told to stop the clock. With the slow PTB, scrums having to be formed to stop the clock, I doubt the ball was in play for more than 40 minutes last night

i'm getting really fed up at the moment - games only seem exciting if they have a close finish, even then the quality can be dull, ie. 2 poor teams like last night. what is annoying is the gamesmanship that is pretty endemic in the matches now, players throwing themselves to the floor after the tackle, throwing the ball out in a 2 or 3 man tackle, feigning injury, slowing the play down. then you have the joke refereeing with no consistent decisions and too many penalties, an unbalanced disciplinary system and its all becoming less appealing, especially when there are lots of alternative pursuits during the summer months.

the problem for RL is, if long termers like myself and others on this thread are becoming disillusioned with the game, how is the sport going to hang on the the relative newcomers and also make the sport appealing to the public in general. a few years ago we had a lack of publicity in the media as a whole but a great product on the field. i'm sorry to say we don't have that at the moment

I have to agree unfortunately. Obviously last year we had some great performances which were brilliant to watch. I'm not sure anything will ever beat the suspense, excitement and elation felt at the end of the Challenge Cup Final for example, but yes, so so many dull games.

They need to get the game sped up especially the play the ball, but also reduce the stoppages - keep the game going during injuries if they are not in the immediate play, and get players off faster for minor injuries, and allow some of the big hits back. Also, they frankly just need to increase the standard of the officiating, perhaps introducing a two ref system like Aus?

Whenever there was a scrum,the Cats where very slow to form,we on the other hand just hung about waiting for them to get there.Surely we should have packed down then the ref should stop the clock, or has this rule changed .

FC need to have a word with Mahe Fonua. He does the flight of the dying swan every time he is touched. Looks at the ref getting up after every single tackle. He got caught out last night. I don't think it will work for him this season

Nothing dull about this cas side

Some right scores at half time. Cas beating Wire, Leigh beating Saints, Widnes beating Wigan, Salford beating Leeds, Wakey beating Hudds.

No we are just dumb at this we only try to stop the clock when getting beat in the last five minutes it's so frustrating

Some really close ones all round. Wigan edging Widnes, Hudds beat Wakey, Leigh beat Saints, Leeds beat Salford, Cas beat Wire. Good that the comp's so close.

Really enjoyed the Wire v Cas game tonight.

It is close every season after only 2/3 rounds. It can hardly be anything else. There are always a few surprises early in the season. Who would have predicted Cas top Wires bottom?

All the games were close.

Nothing dull about last nights game , A great advert for our game .

g

Holding the ball in the scrum has always been a legitimate tactic. It did not happen often after uncontested scrums arrived. However I can see it becoming more prevalent with the new 10 metre rule to put doubt in the defenders' minds and preventing them rushing up to try and effect the first tackle.

There is a difference between using the rules to your advantage and clearly unsporting behaviour. Most fans can see this difference, it's just a pity the officials either are not able to or are not prepared to punish such tactics. The most glaring example was when last week a player was given a penalty for deliberately passing the ball to an opponent on the ground. What made it worse was that it was actually a forward pass. The RFL quickly stepped in but that would not have been necessary if the officials were prepared to think for themselves. Do the RFL have to step in for every type of unsporting behaviour. A penalty against the offender will soon cut out these unsavoury aspects of our game if applied consistently.