Of the post 2000 players i would consider Manu the best along with Kearney - but with him we are into the 'did he play for us long enough' debate again. But Manu yes, he is a great shout for consideration

Not wanting to pre-empt the vote for loose forward but what about Knocker and Mick Crane

Lots of choice here which means that we should really be considering those who put in a decent amount of time with the team so though I liked Rose, Muggleton, Cleal, Kearney and Fitzgibbon they miss out for that reason with me. Same applies to Ellis who is brilliant when fit but sadly that has rarely happened so far.

There were some fine servants who weren't quite international class but none the less good players like Tickle and Jon Sharp.

Taylor and Bill Drake were before my time but are obvious contenders and I'm sure there are some other worthy old timers I have neglected.

Of those I've seen it would be the young Lee Crooks in his 2nd row days and Manu.

However I have a soft spot for Keith Boxall who was Hull's main (only?) attacking threat in the mid 70's and scorer of some quite spectacular tries. I always think he suffered somewhat when representative selection came around because first he was playing for a not very good team and second his body shape was the opposite of the tall, rangy second rowers selectors liked. Still nearly 100 tries for Hull and around long enough to be part of the first climb out of the 2nd division - it was also his misfortune that as his career wound down the glory years were starting up.

Terry Kirchin

Agree with that completely, rhino was a class act, his go forward was fantastic and no mean tackler, that he could kick goals too was a bonus. 98 tries in just over 300 appearances even taking into account a lot of Div 2 games is no mean feat by any standard.

For me there are four automatic choices in the 13, Tommy Harris, Jack Harrison, Billy Batten and... Bob Taylor.
Outlandish freak of a man, he was a Greg Inglis, Wayne Pearce and Gordon Tallis rolled into one, aside from kicking the guy had it all. Scored 12 tries in 13 rep matches as well as his well known 164 tries in 307 appearances at club level.

As for the other second row, it's tough, very tough. But on balance I'd have to go with Lee Crooks, his craft, passing, indeed his pace, goal kicking and tenacious attitude was a stand out, his unflinching sublime offload in the GB v Australia match in '86(?) where he gets absolutely crunched whence feeding his winger (whom then passes inside to schoey to score) typified his abilities.

It's very close between Drake, Manu, Kearney and Rhino, on reliability and 100% every game, Boxall takes third spot for me, Manu/Drake next then Kearney.
No room for Lloyd, kicker extraordinaire but lacking in other areas, Rose was another crunching tackler that was one of those hard men from the 70s/80s but just doesn't do enough for me as much as I loved his out wide runs and big hits.

Knocker always used to say to me that when he was playing for that great mid 70s Cas side against Hull in his Wheldon Road days, that all the focus was always on stopping Boxall, The Cas changing room call was "We stop 'Box' we stop Hull" furthermore he said that Keith Boxall being a Hull player was one of the attractions of joining Hull.
For me, as a spectator I saw "Box" make more 30 and 40+ metre barnstorming runs after breaking a tackle and finding a gap then any 2nd row I recall. No-one even comes close in that dept.
As has been said by others "Box" played in a particularly poor era for Hull, he was an international class 2nd row who's loyalty to Hull meant more to him than chasing glory at a more successful club of that era. If he had signed for a club sitting at the top table in those days he would have been a RL legend in my opinion never mind a Hull legend. If we'd have seen Box in his pomp play for his top years in a good Hull Pack he would without doubt have been a shoe in for Hulls best ever 2nd row. The shame is we never really saw what he could have been in a Hull shirt, but his best anyway was still good enough to make the Legends Team. He still loves Hull FC today, attends the Ex-players get togethers and it it all means more to him than just his playing days. Hull FC is in his blood.

Top post, I've always said Keith was my favourite player as a kid, and you're right, that we didn't really get to see him in a top Hull side was a shame though still scored 7 tries in the 79/80 season. Would have topped over 100 tries were it not for only 4 appearances during 73/74.
As it is I'd have him in my 17 every single time, the type of forward that would make it in any era & would have busted tiring defences apart in SL, throw in loyalty and 100% endeavour and you have a very special player/person. I'm almost persuading myself to vote for him instead of Crooksy

Charlie Birdsall was another fine 2nd rower.

Lee Radford.......nah Stephen Kearnney. SL era anyway.

Shane Mc Menemy was definitely the most underrated but for me one of the best. Keith Boxhall was a favourite. Chris Chester was also a class act, played like an extra centre and made up for Yeamo's lack of passing ability.
Sammy Lloyd couldn't tackle !! Noel Cleal ?
How do we classify Steve Norton and Mick Crane ? they always played in the same team so one played second row, can't get beyond either of those two. Best back row forwards I've seen in a Hull shirt.

Shane Mc Menemy
willi manu
Stephen Kearney
grimaldi....wasn't he LF?

i'll throw the mick crane one out there for discussion - i always thought of him as a classic loose forward, it was the presence of knocker that forced him into the back row on numerous occasions. grimaldi for me was more of a 13 than a second row though he played both positions for us

Thing about Knocker and Craney is that they weren't really Second Row forwards , they were just that good at 13 that they were so hard for Arthur to leave out, especially when we had an injury they'd be right in there at 11 or 12 but they still played a ball handling game. Having such outrageous class on the bench seems crazy I know but it happened in those heady days when we were spoilt rotten, and this was before rolling interchanges so like in football today subs didn't always get much game time.

anyone one who saw terry kirchin would say he was the best ball handling second row we had, plus paul rose was somebody who would rip it up today and hard bloke to, john muggleton to, lots to choose from really

i'll sort out the proposed 6 nominees tomorrow, so if you think of any more deserving cases please speak up

Knocker is a shoe in for the loose forward position,so how can you not have mick crane in your side,for me an r/l genius,my all time favourite.

i think with all due respect to knocker and crane, there may well be another candidate for the LF

That's gonna be a tough one to call .

Not for me.

Danny Washbrook?

I think Cyril Washbrook has more chance!!

or even danny de vito

Ok here are the 6 nominees for the 2 second row positions

1. Bob Taylor. Hailing from Cumbria, Taylor played for hull from 1919 to 1930 making 317 appearances. It was his try scoring feats which attracted most attention, he scored 165 times for hull, a club record for a forward, and scored 6 times in one game, also a club record. In season 1925/6 he crossed the line 32 times for hull and 4 times for GB, and broke over the 20 try barrier on another 3 occasions.

2. Bill Drake. The younger of the Drake twins, Bill was the try scoring ace in the feared 1950s panzer pack. from 1952-63 he played 294 times for hull, scoring 101 tries and kicking 53 goals. he won a championship medal with the club and made a losing appearance in the 1959 cup final. injury prevented a second appearance 1 year on.

3. Keith Boxall. Box or Rhino played in the lean times of the 1970s for hull making just over 300 appearances. Unusually for a second row he was short and powerfully built, most unlike the standard tall rangy forwards who dominated the position at that time. Boxall scored 98 tries for the club, and though quite a few games were in the second division he played at the top level for hull on many occasions, and was arguably the best player of that era.

4. Lee Crooks. Making his debut as a 17 year old in 1980, crooks went on to play 220 times for Hull, scoring 44 tries and kicking 400 goals. he appeared in 3 challenge cup finals and scored the winning try in the 1982 replay success over widnes at elland road. his career at hull ran from 1980 to 1987 when he was controversially sold against his wishes to leeds, but he went on to play over 250 games for castleford, and became one of very few players to reach legendary status at 2 different clubs.

5. Stephen Kearney. Had a very short FC career, playing only 24 times, but made a major impact both on and off the field, being regarded as the missing link in the promising Hull side of the mid noughties. He played every game of the challenge cup run which cumulated in triumph in cardiff in 2005. sent off in his last game for the club against bradford.

6. Willie Manu. Manu played for the club between 2007 and 2012. Signed from castleford where he came to prominence as a wide running back rower, manu upped his game at hull, scoring 36 tries for the club, and being credited with numerous assists and tackle busts wide out on the left hand side. Arguably Hull's best player since the millennium.

Bill Drake was hard fast and not a bad ball handler , working in tandem with brother Jim they would be relentless when the going got tough. Mick Crane also can't be ignored on these fronts and also had that X factor which sometimes took games by the scruff of the neck and gained a win when all looked lost. I would also include young Lee Crooks before his move to Front row as he had all these skills and was a great goalkicker.

Harry Markham tons better than the Drakes together.