Yes, I would agree. Certainly, on Saturday our lack of 'grunt' up front meant it was relatively easy for Wire to keep their defensive shape intact, which in turn means we are always looking for Clifford (or someone else) to pull out a miracle play to create a gap. Losing Truman in the first half hardly helped matters either.

Again, I would agree that since Good Friday the effort has been excellent, even in the games we have lost. The lack of genuine quality in the side is, I'm afraid, something we can't address over the next four weeks, we have to live with it for the time being.

As long as that effort level is maintained, then we should hopefully come away with at least a couple more wins. What none of us want to see is a repeat of recent years where our last few opponents have had carte-blanch to do whatever they damn well felt like doing (Wakefield 2021 or rovers 2022 for instance). That's the change in attitude I was hinting at in my first post, being committed even when it looks, on the surface at least, like there is little tangible to play for.

Truman's cruel luck has changed the landscape, for me, as far as recruitment goes. We have to get two decent halfbacks or we'll end up without any play makers to exploit what looks like being a fearsome pack for next year. It may well be that we look to the lower leagues, as I doubt any of the Aussie halves that haven't been snapped up, will want to make the journey to SL; or massively improve us; we may have to lower expectations in that respect, unless we already have a signing in the bag, unannounced. Hoy at 6 may be good on paper but his injury record is awful, he must be cursing this year and let's hope we can get him fit for the full next season.

Change the attitude ?
We need to clear out literally as many players as we can !

Mint and Tag , Carlos And Lane - there’s 4 for you and Ben McNamara

We have to cleanse the mental garbage in the squad

And I thought the age of comedy was dead!!

Gotta love happy clappers who add to the overall malaise of mediocrity

I saw the Saints game in the Cup and was astonished at the 2nd half performance

What I admired was how much the fans got behind the team
I haven’t seen that for such a long time but the players clearly pick and choose when they want to perform to the level they can win and it’s a winning business in sport not gallant losses

These happy clappers go everywhere, buy loads of merchandise and spend thousands each year, there keep the club going.

You go to one gane in 5 years and think you have the right to critise these fans.

You need a reality check.

This idea that fans not rioting or walking away because we don't win every week somehow contributes to a team not winning is utter nonsense.

I've resisted raising to the bait of this thread but Oh come on guys!! of course the season is over. because if by some miracle we get into the 6 (and its getting to Miracle status now) does anyone really think this team will get past the first round away from home in a high pressure play off game? The thing though all is not lost because for some of us its job done.

When you look at the state we were in at the end of last season and the fact that we had signed up all but one of the last crop of incoming players when Tony Smith, arrived should have meant that our only expectation for this season, so critical as it has now become, was to survive relegation, be in the mix for 2024 and hope that Smith could start a process of rebuilding the club up to the state we were in in say 2017. The 'run his course and become stale' demise of Radford, Andy Lasts treading water rein and the abject inability to get players up for games/ simple baffling recruitment of Hodgson, has seen the club sink to as low a point as we have seen in all our years in Super league.

All I wanted was to survive and at last we had a coach that could, given time, possibly take us the other way. After 7 defeats on the trot I wondered if it was just another false dawn with a coach who had maybe gone a step too far even for him as he took on a shambles of a squad. However since then we have seen him get players who were amazingly good at not giving a toss, up for games, see ones that many on here thought were on the scrap heap and past it get a new lease of life and made some 'under weight' forwards perform about our and even perhaps their, expectations. We have seen some good scraping performances and a lot of spirit and heart, on the way to getting the points we needed to survive. That had to be our main aim and simply imperative, for, as the unheard of glut of signings going late in the season to Cas and Wakey has proved, it essential this year that we are in the 11 that survive.

I'm not at all comfortable with our signings coming in but having seen what he has done so far, I'm willing to wait and see a) what the finished squad is and b) how they perform next season. But from what we know so far it's hardly inspiring is it? One things for certain Smith's a great man manager totally fair to everyone and becoming a bit of a 'Bringer of Hope' for the fans, but he tough as well and if you cause disruption as Griffin undoubtably did then you're out on your ear.

For me yes the season is over but I'm really enjoying the remainder of it and hope that we give some of our young hopefuls a run out to see how they go on in the big boys league because on that score at this point we have nothing at all to lose. I'm just enjoying the ride now!

Agree with Wilf, everybody wants to see us in the play offs but realistically after those seven games most wouldn't of thought we would still be in with a mathematic chance of making the top 6 at this stage. That is testament to Tony's ability to motivate with a squad he has had zero say on. If we miss out of the play offs but continue to put the effort in right till the final minute of Saints away, will it be considered a good season? Not really, but to me it will be a significant improvement on past seasons.

After the Derby embarrassment last year I had absolutely zero interest in the next season, this time round I can't wait for 2024. Let Tony put his spin on the side and see where it takes us, his record suggests it will be higher up the table.

Nail on the head.

Like you after the Derby at end of last season and walking home from the stadium I had pretty much come to the decision that after 44yrs watching Hull FC it would be the last season for me if Hodgson was still the Head Coach.
I even emailed the club stating I wouldn't be renewing due to the non existent performances and over standard of the product with BH at the helm.
To be fair I did get a reply off James Clarke pretty swiftly thanking me for my critical but constructive email as opposed to just sending an abusive one

. In his reply he accepted pretty much all I had put and said that things would be changing.

I think TS has done well in turning around the squad this year considering the restraints in terms of personnel etc. Whilst the league position isn't much better the level of performance and consistency is a million miles away from last season and the early part of this.
There's no denying there is still a lot of work to be done and improvements to be made but I have to admit that this is the first time in 4 or 5 years I've enjoying going to games again.

The season is never over until the last game because we should aim to compete in every game.

If we go into the Saints game with no chance of making the six the season is still not over as we should aim to win there.

absolutely

Last game of the season we have a good chance to win the Steve Prescott trophy after our result against them at home.
Have we ever actually won the trophy before?

Not since 2016 if it was played for then.

Check yourself before you wreck yaself

Great response, you know I'm right, you rarely support the club financially, you are no supporter in my eyes.

I’ve procrastinated with him several times on here about his attitude to Happy Clappers, the same happy clappers who buy passes, shirts and lottery tickets and on top of that spend a fortune travelling away, some taking whole families with them. He lives in a time capsule, 3000 miles away and responds to any disagreement with his usual rhetoric, I coached Shaull etc.
As you say, 1 game in 5 years and he’s an expert, very close to the ignore button for me. Come on you happy clappers

Spot on. Really boils my p.iss when you get the usual negativity from certain posters who don't even go.

Obviously everyone is a little downhearted with our situation this weekend, but all is not lost. If I calculate correctly, we are still in the mix in 2023; IF

IF one of Warrington or rovers (preferably rovers

) lose all three remaining games.
IF Salford win a maximum of one further game (preferably the one against rovers

).
IF Leeds also win a maximum of one further game.
IF Huddersfield win a maximum of two further games (losing only to ourselves).
IF we win all three of our remaining fixtures (preferably by margins of 50pts + in each

)

IF each of those scenarios were to come to pass, then we would leapfrog four teams in a single bound, up to sixth and into the play-offs


After that, and with the momentum with us, winning two play-off games and a Grand Final should be a cake-walk. Followed next February by a World club-challenge victory over Penrith or Brisbane





And to think, some people on here are all doom & gloom (



) when there is still obviously all to play for



Yours sincerely
The eternal optimists everywhere
(or the severely deluded, the choice is yours

)

I used to post on here years ago under a different name and my god it’s not changed

Your right there mate. I imagine they sit listening to the radio getting all hot and bothered. Then sprout there usual anti FC s hite whilst praising how good the Dobbins are

. Never see them when we winning but goodness me when we lose there keyboard keys must be on fire

At least with the CC final moving to our peak month of June our chances of sucess have increased. Just need the Grand Final moving to summer and we're back on track

Most frustrating thing for me is that I felt we made a real turn from the battering of the early season and previous years when we went on our decent run mid season. Even losing 19-12 to Huddersfield and by 1 point I could take to a certain extent, improvement and effort and in the fight and all that.

Seems as though the past few games we’ve lost our way again, at the end of a season again, with important players injured… again. Hard pill to swallow, but looking forwards to the seasons ahead.

We really had a dig at Wigan. Last 2 have been painful to watch. We just aren't good enough IMO. Clearly massive changes in place. Lots being moved on . Think we started our major overall

Last time I looked at the fixture list, we had 3 more games to play so why does someone start a thread “season over” unless of course you don’t want to watch anymore Rugby


As I’ve said many times, I’ve been an FC fan for 8 decades, yes I know, it’s amazing that anyone can put up with all this rubbish you all spout but I’ll go around, again and I’ll shout for my team, again and I’ll thank Adam Pearson for going around, again. Sound like Forest Gump but a lot of you ITK’s and whingers could take a tip from him, “ my momma said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get” Just have to keep turning up to find out, unless of course you listen to the radio, you know who you are.