Sounds like our best option for this year.

I would agree with that. The off the ball runners were very poor also today but Horne and Houghton in particular were way below par. Horne did well to score his try and Houghton was good in the lead up to Tickle's try but apart from that there were a massive number of wrong options taken. I thought Westerman looked to have been told to play up the middle and didn't really play a pivot role at all. The sooner Heremaia is fit the better in relation to Houghton. Seymour needs another 6 to take some play making responsibility away from him.

Both Horne and Westerman have had long spells out and Houghton has played 80 minutes for god knows how long.
I thought both Horne and Westerman were disappointing today, but they were not the only ones.
Earlier in the season, when he had had a run of games Horne had shown glimpses of his former self, especially in the first derby. I don't think he is our answer to our half back issues, but still don't think we can write him off completely.
If we had won these last to weeks, I don't think half of the threads we have had would have existed.

And I'm sorry if that makes me an apologist (see what I did there?)



Oh, by the way, Heremia said he is back in full training and should be back for the Wire game.

As much as I like Horney and try to fight his corner somewhat, today he was slow and poor. Tackled too much with the ball, he even nearly cocked up his try when all he had to do was fall over the line.

Thought Seymour had a very good game, tried all he could and basically did it himself. Nice kicks, short and long, and some nice passes. He is getting better every game and could be better still with a decent SO.

Again, we play below par and draw with a top side.

Hornes been out of his depth for years now and people have been defending too much imo.

Agree with all of your post, except that Saints are a 'top side' this season they are an average side the same as us, and we should be picking up 2 points at home.

This season they do look average, but to get 3 points from 4 against them is probably something you would take at the beginning of the season.

We did enough to beat them today. I thought their sliding defence was pretty good, but we built more pressure today then we probably have all season and failed on most occasions to make it count.

so its horne,westerman and houghton now if all these so called experts had there way we would have got rid of sharp,turner,martin and aspinwall before the start of the season

Saints were poor, we were poor. Both sides trying to get the last weeks games out of their systems.
Horne (and a few others already mentioned) were gash.
I was really surprised by Houghton in that he made the ground, did all the hard graft and turned it inside again and again. I could have pulled my hair out at times.
As someone said next to me, that's why he's not in the full England squad - he needs to take the line on more. But, was it PG's tactics?

I think the short inside passes must surely have been a tactical decision by Gentle, as everyone was at it! its a tactic that bores the life out of me!

Me to, at times there's a gap for all to see and a step inside would be the option but no, lets flip it back instead....and then the player gets tackled.

Especially when it's obviously not working yet we continue to do it

Game plan?

Exactly my point

at times today players ignored potential gaps to instead run (and I use that term loosely!) in to a pack of 3/4 Saints markers

absolutly not!! with a few more bodies running lines he'd have been close to m o m. his effort was great. Seymour would have been awsum for the same reasons and to a lesser degree westy! So slow and pedesrian were we today at times benji marshal would have been made to look crap!! 3 times he looked to pass and was no body there. Released manu couple of times to almost create something but willi's decision making and choices were poor today,could of put outside men away couple of times!

the worst most utterly annoying thing was danny h at dummy half run diagonally drop the ball inside for the square markers to tackle the man who is taking the ball after checking his run and nearly tripping over danny! the most annoying ineffectivly executed play i've seen for many yrs. Understand it in principle early in a game to engage and tire markers but it was almost an attacking play! With play like this Horne will never look good! no 6 would!

Houghton was by far the worst player in a Hull shirt today,his passing from dummy half is awful and so slow. The quicker Heremia is fit the better cos he can then be spelled.

Couldn't agree more. Whiting is not Benji Marshall but is the best option, he can straighten up the attack (badly lacking today) while allowing Seymour to play a role he is best suited to...i.e. a pivot around which the side resolves whenever we have the ball, whichever side of the field the ball is going. Seymour is not a rabbit-out-of-the-hat type player but as a pivot he is very good (in my opinion), can execute a variety of passes both ways very well.

Also seems to me our hooker needs to be giving Seymour the ball when he is expecting it/asking for it. Don't know if I'm imagining things, but does Houghton like to go off and do his own thing from dummy half, contrary to the expectations of everyone else when in the opposition 25? Sure I noticed friction between Seymour and Houghton today (probably) about this.

In my book if a half-back is asking for the ball he should be given it.

Was a bit baffled with houghton's "run around" in the 1st half

I couldn't agree more , If Sharp never got injured , I'd have subbed Horne for Whiting.

I thought Seymour was our only halfback today

Yesterday

Yeah, me too

This is true, however for the rest of this season, I'd play Horne at Full back (his best game this season was against bradford from FB) and play Whiting at 6.