There are a lot of folk in the team that have to live up to their pre season hype lets hope they all do at the same time huh, just as Fozzard drives it in for the first time !!

and meets ....wait for it....

AN HAME OF ONE!!! be on a t shirt in a week


ok im off

There were plenty of games last season where Horne was alot worse than Thorman, especially in defence which used to be 1 of Horne's big strengths.

It may sound harsh and blunt however i think Horne is on his last legs and we need to start grooming Washbrook/Turner for the 6 role.

Don't know about last legs, that might be a bit premature. He does however need a big season and he might just deliver with having someone like Long to take the pressure off.

spot on, he has had a really hard time with getting used to the diabetes and that took its mid season last year, after starting off very well

he'll suprise his doubters this year

Here's hoping. We have more depth about the side this season especially within the forwards. No player should be in a comfort zone this season.

I hope its premature however its his defence that is the massive worry for me as our right edge defence was a shambles last season and against Rovers he was falling off of tackles.

correct mate.

also with a fit squad agar will put players in the team who are on form and thats how it should be,thats why i think whiting will start against saints.

That's been the biggest problem in his game since his injury/illness. He used to be a target in defence when stood at 2nd row to tire him out. Now he's a target when stood at centre because he rarely makes the first impact count. With the ball, he'll still produce what he always has alongside a good and dominant organiser, but defensively, he's a massive worry.

As has already been said, massive injuries and learning to live with an illness are something that will undoubtedly knock any player. I think everyone should afford Horne some respect, he'll come good his year next to long and with better defenders around him should be okay in that respect too. Even last year when his form wasn't great he still produced flashes of brilliance like his try at Huddersfield away where he skinned this years man of steel!

As I've said for a while now , Horne's very overrated and don't understand why we've kept him for so long.

His defence is the worry, no doubt at all. It used to be such a strength too. It must be a weight/power thing and it needs addressing.

On a huge chunk of money. 2 more seasons of him as well.

He's always missed lots of tackles. Not down to his diabetes IMO

Got to make it at least ten, i remeber round five last year 100% record, people buying grand final tickets!

since hes come back from his injury and diabetas hes been very poor and he will be the first to admitt that,class is permanent and you dont become a bad player over night,i thought in the derby he showed a few glimses of what he can do by setting up 2 tries,it was only a few years ago he got that try scoring record wasnt it,i personaly believe he will be back to somewhere near his best this year now he has a great player in long with him,ive said all along we never replaced cookie but now we have.

horney should not be written off.

Well said

Not sure any-one is writing Horney off, however like other performances from last season we are highlighting certain players Horney, Yeamo, Radders (to name just 3), need to improve this year to earn their place on the team...failure to do this should result in being dropped.

I dont remember plenty of games. Thorman had one decent game at Bradford the rest was shambolic. Thorman was guilty of not trying/bothering/being willing to put his body on the line for Hull FC and even if Horne was poor he wasn't guilty of that.

well said Wolfie, some people I think dont understand what a debilitating illness diabetes can be, and especially when you are playing sport and have to adjust diet and control glucose levels, that in itself is difficult for the ordinary person nevermind a sportsman, when Horney "dropped " his form he has recently been diagnosed and it takes time for the body and the person to adjust to diabetes.

the whole squad need to improve on last season, I'm not making observations about any individual until we've played at least 3 games, falling of tackles in a meaningless friendly is one thing, doing it against Saints and Huddersfield will actually matter.

Richard will always have my respect, but I wont make apologies for him if he fails to perform, likewise any other member of the squad, there are no excuses for anyone this season, nowhere to hide.

You are right diabetes is a difficult illness to control, my daughter has it and it does take a few months with medication /diet advise/lifestyle to adjust. Rich will be the first to tell you his diabetes is under control..His diabetes is not the issue here it is his performance.If a player is unable to perform to the desired standard in top flight rugby for whatever reasons that player should not be playing, we cannot afford to carry any player if we want to seriously contend..Now Yeamo and a few others have also not hit the heights required..why? who knows, various reasons I suspect. Although we are not offering excuses for other players, the crux of the issue is they have to improve or be dropped, no room for sentimentality in this sport, sentimentality should not be misunderstood for respect as we have plenty of that for all our players, and I sincerely hope all our boys hit the heights they are capable of and have a great season collectively and individually.

There's been a couple on this very thread.

Well more fool them then, he is a former international with a lot of talent, if he can get his form back they will look rather silly then won't they

Well put.

We have options this season so there is no reason not to select on form. I imagine the whole squad is aware of this. Going through the motions cannot be tolerated, and we also can't afford to stick with out-of-form players.

The ideal for me would to have one or two players really staking a claim in the reserves (U20's, whatever they are called this week) but the 1st team performing so well Agar struggles with selection each week.

I'll have more respect for Agar if he makes tough decisions that don't work out than if he just picks the "names" and they don't work out.

Defeat doesn't bother me so much as the manner in which we are defeated.

All teams need a defensive 6 dont they