Lovely stuff. A little trip to the fancy Red Brick Mill before the game I think.

https://www.hullfc.com/news/2020-01-21- ... -cancelled "Hull FC have been informed by Hull Kingston Rovers that Saturday’s reserves friendly at Hull College Craven Park has been cancelled." Rude.

https://www.hullfc.com/news/2020-01-21- ... -cancelled "Hull FC have been informed by Hull Kingston Rovers that Saturday’s reserves friendly at Hull College Craven Park has been cancelled." Rude.

Why is it rude, they have had huge injury problems and the SL starts soon, makes sense to me.

"Hull Kingston Rovers are delighted to confirm not one, not two, but THREE pre-season derbies against Hull FC!

The Robins will host their cross-city rivals at Hull College Craven Park in an exciting triple-header on Saturday 25th January."

Is it due to their injury problems? I thought this suite of games was more about reserve and academy players.

It is annoying, I was really looking forward to it, but to call it rude is just wrong.
Adam Pearson clearly doesn't find it rude or he wouldn't have facilitated the Academy game at his junior pitch (no idea why Craven Park can't host it).
I'm getting this information second hand but apparently the lack of a scholarship game is an RFL decision.
At least we get to see an Academy game. Result should be a formality but I reckon Rovers will get stuck in and make a decent account of themselves.

Well, Rovers made a big splash about it, with exclamation marks and everything, then "informed" Hull that it was off, so that's a bit ill-mannered. Hats off to AP if he has saved the day as best he can given we don't have the luxury of our own ground to use for precisely this type of event. If the reports of the Rovers Academy motivation to rip in are reliable it will be a long old afternoon for the black and whites.

Rude would have been not informing Hull FC and leaving them hanging about at a locked Craven Park in their tracksuits and big headphones, while going for a cheeky Nando’s.

Some clubs are better suited to being a big fish in a small pond.
2021 is just around the proverbial corner.

This is what it says on rovers' website....

Josh Griffin getting plenty of praise here:

"Josh Griffin has been the shining star of Hull FC’s pre-season campaign, says the club's head of high performance Paul Hatton.

Griffin enjoyed a remarkable season for the Black and Whites in 2019, finishing the year having picked up four individual awards at the end of season dinner, including Player of the Year.

Despite his form, though, he went into the new season with his place in the squad far from secure, given the return of Mahe Fonua to the club after two years at Wests Tigers and seemingly that has drove him on in training.

Griffin has already been singled out by Radford for his leadership skills this year and he’s caught the eye of the club’s conditioning staff too with Hatton describing the centre as ‘phenomenal’.

“Probably the stand out for us in terms of everything – in terms of fitness, speed, agility, weights, skill and leadership - has been Josh Griffin. He’s been phenomenal in all areas,” Hatton told Hull Live.

“What’s probably the most impressive thing for us is we purposely gave him some younger kids to work with in the gym and he’s taken that on board, he’s taken himself to the limit and taken them with him in a positive way.

“He’s been really, really impressive, it’s exactly what you want from a senior player. You can’t fault all the senior players to be honest, they’ve all got drive and leadership.” "


And not so much of the "Albert Belly" chat this year.
"Griffin isn’t the only senior player to have taken it up a notch over pre-season, with Hatton also being delighted with the work of Albert Kelly.

Kelly also has huge competition for places for the stand-off role this season, with Jake Connor pushing him hard for that spot in the team and the Australian hasn’t rested on his laurels.

Kelly has raised eyebrows with the huge amount of body fat he has lost since the squad returned to action at the start of November.

“Albert Kelly has been unbelievable this pre-season,” Hatton added. “He’s lost 4 or 5 per cent of his body fat and that’s massive.

“We set quite strict targets of where they need to be in these percentages and he’s actually below the target he’s been set. His pre-season has been really impressive.

“Albert has always been a good trainer, I can never fault him in the way he trains. It’s probably away from the training ground, he likes a Caffe Gelato and that type of stuff.

“You can see in his body type, it’s changed from a short, stubby guy to a much more athletic build. His body fat is below his set target so I literally can’t fault where he’s at.” "

Really good comments on Griffin. Thought he was great last year and hopefully what is said above translates onto the pitch and he looks even more impressive there too. Just can't wait for the season to start now. A very exciting year for us I think.

I wonder if Josh Griffin could be an answer to the captain conundrum at the club, especially post Houghton.

I thought the same.

Griffin may not even be In the starting 17 so i cant see it

Well, the academy Derby went OK. Although to be so close to 50 points must have been frustrating.

@hullfcofficial
FT: Hull FC Academy 48-22 Hull KR Academy

The first meeting between these two academies since 2015 ends in a commanding win for the Black & Whites!

#2020Vision

Really ? If fit he has to be in the 17.
He makes yards after contact can play in the backs or the pack.

If fit Griffin will be in the 17.

i said may not.

Bowden playing at Bradford this afternoon. He must be in contention. Anyone know where we're up to with Shaul and Swift?

…. Bowden is actually starting the match, so let's hope he gets a good run out.

(Kear has named 16 subs!)

A well deserved victory for Hull. The 3 lads who played in your first team friendlies understandably looked a level above and I thought throughout the side you looked more physically mature and exploited our weaknesses well.

Was great to see the Derby back at that level and it was well attended too.

I think 32 mins first half and 22 2nd half based on the Bulls Twitter feed?

Good that it was well attended after all the faffing about. What do you think of Ben McNamara?

Excellent defensively for a half back. Great goalkicker and generally a tidy player. I think he lacks a bit of spark going forward personally. Your other half back is a better player.

Thanks - interested to see how he progresses.