I was in the 'take a gamble on Morrison' camp and thought his injuries were unlucky rather than being prone to injury. I think we need to give it a little longer before we can be certain whether we made the right decision. Hall hasn't quite settled in just yet but I think he deserves a little more time. I think we have seen signs of him finding his feet at the Bulls.

I think it's fair to say worrincy has made too many defensive errors now & needs to dropped to reserve grade.
I think we were exposed down our right side again against wire, which was symptamatic of last season, so if platt is fit i'd try him at right centre, this is a bit tough on sykes who's been doing ok but he did get sucked in for atkins first try.
My other worry is halley at full back again he's been steady but has not beaten the first man more often than not, i think we need more cutting edge from full back. Therfore i'd move reardon to fb and put halley to the wing. That for me creates a bit of a problem with his size with crossfield kicks but it's not a perfect world.
I would also like to see G. Burgess given a go from the bench, i dont want to rush the lad but kojack just deos not have enough impact from the bench.
It was'nt a disaster losing to wire but i think the team can be improved, so this would be my selection.

1 Reardon
2 Sheriffe
3 Platt
4 Nero
5 Halley
6 Kearney
7 Orford
8 Lynch
9 L'Estrange
10 Scruton
11 Whitehead
12 Langley
13 Menzies

14 Godwin
15 Donaldson
16 Hall
17 G.Burgess

We won't see changes as big as that.

I predict we will see:

Halley
Sheriffe
Sykes
Nero
Reardon
Kearney
Orford
Lynch
L'Estrange
Scruton
Whitehead
Langley
Menzies

Godwin
Hall
Kopzcak
Donaldson

But i'd like to see:

Halley
Sheriffe
Sykes
Platt
Reardon
Kearney
Orford
Lynch
L'Estrange
Scruton
Whitehead
Langley
Menzies

Godwin
Hall
Kopzcak
G Burgess

Harsh on Donno that would be, but Hull have a big pack.

You'd drop one of the best tacklers in the squad in favour of an entirely untried youngster



I'd say that your first predication is likely to be accurate. Langley in for Worrincy will likely be the only change - although I wouldn't complain if Nero was dropped in favour of Crookes. I felt Crookes was a bit unlucky to get dropped against Wire - he started poorly against Wigan, but came back strong in the 2nd half.

I know, I said it was harsh, but I think we'll need some extra size on the bench vs Hull when they have Luaki, O'Meley etc.

Other option is to drop Kopzcak for Burgess with Langley back in for Worrincy.

I was really impressed with Koppy late on last season, but he seems to have gone backwards since then and however solid he may be in defence, he just isn't making enough metres going forward.

I'm not a big Kopczak fan, but don't forget the lad missed a lot of presason due to the knee injury he picked up against England while he was playing for Wales. He's probably a few weeks behind a few others in terms of fitness levels and probably wouldn't have played all these games had Sculthorpe not got injured as well.

I think he's playing as McNamara doesn't feel any of the other yonger lads are upto the job yet. More likely to see a Burgess / other youngster against Quins at home.......don't think Hull away with the size of their pack is the time to throw in a lad for his debut if you can sensibly avoid it.

I suppose you're right there. I hope Koppy can re-gain some of his form from late last season as it would certainly be good for the team. For his size he should be making way more metres.

The Donaldson for Worrincy seems to be a no brainer doesn't it?

Let's hope Macca sees the light this week

1. Halley
2. Crookes
3. Sykes
4. Menzies
5. Reardon
6. Kearney
7. Orford
8. Scruton
9. L'Estrange
10. Lynch
11. Whitehead
12. Langley
13. Donaldson

14. Godwin
15. Hall
16. Nero
17. Kopzcak

Interesting.

Why drop Sheriffe when he's probably our most improved player and keeps getting better?

If you're going to take Nero out of the centres, why not put Crookes in, instead of on the wing?

Nero doesn't run the ball in hard enough to be used in the pack anymore imo, so having him on the bench would be useless.

definitely keep donaldson in definitely and langley in worrincy. Only other change I'd consider would be platt/crookes for nero. I know theres an argument for giving nero and reardon a chance to develop a partnership but we've given it six games now and there hasnt been any sign of improvement on that side. so it could be time to freshen things up on that side imo.

I wonder what Macca's plan is longer term - well next season more specifically.

Nero is OOC this year, therefore there are a number of options for next year.

1. Offer him a new deal and stay with that pairing
2. Sign someone else (a big name) for that position.
3. Go with Platt & Reardon.
4. Go with Crookes and Reardon and hope Crookes swims rather than sinks.
5. Move Menzies to Centre to mentor the development of Crookes for a year.

I think all options have pro's and cons, but if 4/5 are where we are heading then Crookes needs more action this year with out a doubt.

What makes it more interesting is that, after reading other peoples comments I believe he also comes off quota next year so we could keep him with no real issues on the quota front. I'd be hoping for a marked improvement on his form before a contract is offered though!

Can't remember the details but I thought the RFL were supposed to be stopping/have stopped people coming off the quota?

I'm sure Mr Aardvaark will clarify..........

I cannot believe people are discussing Nero going.

He should be the number one priority for retention, our best back last year! He will come good when the pitches start to harden. I blame it on the unseasonably cold weather we've been having



When it gets warmer and teams start throwing the ball around with gay abandon you will see the value of Nero while others lose their heads, mark my words.

Nero's certainly not been up to last year's form so far this year.

I think a decent centre should be high up on the wish list for 2010.

That's Gareth Thomas!

Hull 19-man squad.

Berrigan, T Briscoe, Calderwood, Cusack, Dowes, Fitzgibbon, Horne, Houghton, Lauaki, Long, Manu, Moa, O’Meley, Radford, Tansey, Tickle, Turner, Whiting, Yeaman

[url=http://www.hullfc.com/hullfc/contents/?p=5627Hall replaced by Calderwood.[/url

Would imagine they'll line up something like;

Tansey
Briscoe
Yeaman
Whiting
Calderwood
Horne
Long
O'Meley
Berrigan
Radford
Tickle
Manu
Fitzgibbon

Cusack
Dowes
Lauaki
Houghton/Turner

He's average.