You have more chance of finding out the meaning of life.

Composing his resignation letter hopefully

probably playing squash with tony smith at my gym

Don't think I saw the players acknowledge the fans once today, they just don't seem to give a flying fook tbh.

that just aint good enough they wanna remember where there money comes from to pay there wages.

Errr the players applauded the fans at the end. Admittedly they got short shrift from a few fans in return.....

and they deserved the short shrift!

i think i saw Tommy Lee, Houghton and maybe Whiting clap and the rest just trudged off like the 'dont you know who i am' brigade like they like to think that they are.

to be expected then

Big Sam gave the thumbs up and applauded

Quite a few near us were cheering the players. got to wonder about some peoples sanity

I thought the cheering was for the fact the game was over.

There you go, you've just shattered your own point. Maloney wasn't simply left out for Cordoba, he was left out rather than go with a full complement of props because Agar doesn't seem to think he is good enough and views him as only a last resort. Cordoba replaced Thackray, who is injured. If he had still been fit the likelihood is that he would have played, we'd have still gone with only one prop on the bench, and it still wouldn't have been Maloney.

Whether or not you agree with Agar's assessment of Maloney is a different matter, but Maloney didn't have a place in the side to be stolen in the first place.

Yeah, Maloney's at least had a limited chance.



When was the last time you saw Radford play? If you don't think he's now a prop you must be mad.

You're last point I actually partly agree with, but will wait and see how Cordoba goes in more than just what was by most accounts one poor team performance within days of arriving in the country before making a snap judgement on whether or not he is worth it.

Fair enough.

Do you not think Maloney deserves to be put 'in the shop window' then??

He's not the sort of prop I want anywhere near the Hull team, but I suppose the same could be said of any other position he plays.

So you're saying if Cordoba hadn't have arrived you have played with only two props yesterday??

Me? No. Agar? Wouldn't be surprised. I would have half expected Radford to start at prop, Burnett starting, Tickle at loose man, and Maloney on bench used for only 10 mins.

But that's not what I'm saying at all, anyway, and isn't the point. You seem to be suggesting that Maloney is specifically being left out to accomodate an Aussie. He's been left out pretty much all season. And if a short term British prop had been available he would have for them. Cordoba's nationality is irrelevant in this case.

I think a player either deserves to play or he doesn't. I don't see what bearing their contractual status and need to be on display has to do with that.

FWIW, I do think he can consider himself unlucky in his opportunities, he's looked ok when he's been given a chance.

If Cordoba had not been signed, would Maloney have played? answer yes. Therefore he IS taking Maloneys gametime and chances at first team level away from him. Injuries will always happen that what you have your squad for. Hull had cover for this particular injury and chose to ignore it and sign another aussie. With Lauaki due to arrive soon giving Maloney a few games and more time on the paddock to see just how good he is would not have done any harm whatsoever??

My fear now is he'll be discarded without really been given a chance to shine. Signing Cordoba to 'put himself in the shop window' has directly affected a British players' chance to build a career and thats what i am against.

I'm not actually debating whether or not Maloney deserves a crack at it, I agree with you there. Where I'm disagreeing is whether or not the nationality of the players keeping him out is the key factor. It isn't.

Maloney has now had 5 months to convince the coaching staff he is worthy of a chance in the first team, and he's failed to do so. That is why when faced with an injury problem they have chosen to look outside the club for reinforcements. It just so happens that the one they found is from overseas.

I agree that youth should be given the chance if it shows enough promise, but the opinion on Maloney seems to be that he doesn't. The coaches appear to have ignored him because they don't think he's good enough, and have instead opted for someone older, bigger, and with significantly more first team experience in top-flight rugby. That's hardly a surprise, nor a reason to criticise. Leaving him out to bring in someone of the same ability/record would be nonsensical and justifying of criticism, but they haven't done that.

The question should probably be more about why isn't he in the team so that we have 4 props to rotate. That's a much more valid argument IMO. You just seem to be looking for a reason to have another go at the club over some sort of moral outrage, TBH.

Excellent post.

Not at all. I am very consistant in my views on foreign players. Maybe Maloney isn't good enough, though i'm not sure a handfull of 10min spells are much of an indicator, but how the hell do they know that Cordoba is any better??? One of the reasons behind the licensing idea is that with relegation taken out of the equation clubs would use more British talent instead of going overseas.

Cordoba was a signing Hull didn't NEED to make.

Good job that's not all the coaches will have seen then isn't it?

As for not knowing if Cordoba is any better, that's true of pretty much any signing before you try them out. As is the comment about not needing to sign him. We don't NEED to make any signings for next year on that basis, as the players are available in the squad so long as we're happy to go with what we've got. But with that approach we'll never improve.

Pretty feeble.

As is your entire argument.

We've got injuries and don't think the youngster we brought in in the close season has proved to be good enough, so we've brought in someone who we think might be until the signings for next season arrive and injured players return. You're choosing to concentrate on the single point of that replacement being foreign (and for no other reason than the fact that he is foreign), rather than all the reasons why the move makes sense. You're also choosing to ignore the fact that there is still more than enough room for both players in the 17 if the coaching staff so wish. He's not being left out purely because an overseas player is being favoured, he's being left out because he's not considered good enough. It really is that simple, no matter how you try to dress it up.