2022 Super League is not in my top 5 sports.

Imagine a mark Roberts type of player and Andy Greg type of player playing today..it would be a joy to watch..only in wire colours tho

Quote ="Wires71"This game had it all. Skill, pace, hard tackles, biff, local tribal rivalry, big crowd, crowd singing. Boyd vs Sorensen. Tell me 2022 Super League is better sporting entertainment. https://youtu.be/UD9z12CXSdY'" Brilliant watch that. Brian Johnson was one hell of a player too.

Quote ="Wires71"This game had it all. Skill, pace, hard tackles, biff, local tribal rivalry, big crowd, crowd singing. Boyd vs Sorensen. Tell me 2022 Super League is better sporting entertainment. https://youtu.be/UD9z12CXSdY'" Brilliant watch that. Brian Johnson was one hell of a player too.

Message to Douglas Black, Moe, SAM, Wires 71, runningman29, et al

It's you that's crying, not me.





(sniff)

Damn, there were some thinking 2010-14 were great times, but they were nearly 30 years out.

Well as they say, even nostalgia isn't as good as it use to be.

I not only agree with you but I wonder how anyone can put it down to lack of professionalism or “culture”? Sometimes the rugby gods are just against you…

In his book, Lee Briers mentions how Tony Smith changed the "mentality of the team" from 2009 onwards - that's the professionalism & culture that was different than the preceding years, but still the small onfield margins might always inhibit success.

We were done by a battle-hardened Leeds side in both 2011 and 12, which I can live with. However, I still maintain we were a Joel Monaghan and Stefan Ratchford injuries away from victory in 2013, which were down to lady luck and some dubiously cynical tactics on behalf of the opposition.

The 2013 final always feels like the one that was stolen rather than lost for me.

Good bit of gamesmanship in all three finals ,playing the ref can be the difference in one off games where there's a reluctance to send players off.

The fact that Smith filled our bench with forwards, when he could have included Brett Hodgson on our bench, meant that those 2 injuries impacted on our team so badly.

We ended up with Briers at fullback and Bridge on the wing and a totally unbalanced team.

I'm sort of glad we didn't win in 2013 - the whole Westwood v Green incident would have always tarnished it somewhat.

Clearly this is much easier say, in principle, when we didn't win.

The Monaghan one was the killer for me. Completely flipped the momentum and they scored straight off the back of that.

Is that any different than the St Helens no try in 2019?

Yep - one was a blatant act of thuggery and a cop-out by the ref, the other was just a great/poor onfield ref call.

Yes, definitely. If the Monaghan incident hadn't happened & we had held that particular Wigan phase of attack out (which without the disruption is likely), then we would have comfortably won that final.

It's all the rub of the green though and it's what makes sport so special. But when you are on the receiving end of such incidents then it's hard to forget and accept.

100%…filling you’re team full of south sea islander near crash test dummies, doesn’t constitute a pack.
Filling your team with big men with a footballing brain does.

It’s where I echo ‘WILLOWS TOURS’ on here.

Hit them, hurt them, get on with hitting and hurting.
Do your apologies after we’ve won the game.

I don’t want to see our players give someone a big hit, bordering legal, go over and offer the guy a handshake. If he’s hurt, let the magic sponge offer the apology.

The thing I like of how were shaping up is that we can afford the luxury back towers like Currie should we have enough field position and momentum from the middle players. If we can get Currie back to playing as a wider creative player having Ashton, Dufty and Wrench outside him in space then it could work out well. It’s just important that we undertake the hard work in pre season and fix up our defence and get fit enough to compete over 80 minutes.

I saw Lee Briers so shell shocked, he packed down in the second row.
Wigan hit us, Wigan hurt us, Wigan beat us.
Yes they cheated and bullied, and they were the Champions.
Then they made up and shook our hands.

Agreed. And presumably anyone else who agrees can’t then put our lack of success in SL down to culture. On at least 3 occasions it was down to something else completely.

Absolutely, I’m convinced the Currie with be the biggest beneficiary of the big men.
Currie is fast, deceiving fast, he only needs half a break, and the presence of quality forwards attracting the attention of the defenders will be all he needs.
Currie has always had the skill, you don’t forget how to ride a bike, just sometimes you ride it slower.
Currie has been hampered through injury and no preseasons, then when just as he’s getting something like, he’s has to play during a season where for most of it, we had only one or two recognised out and out props.

Even without express pace he can still pass and kick well. He just needs room. This might not go down well, but Clark stands to be the one to gain the most from a pack of big men, which could also hamper the team the most. When we get quick play the balls, he has a habit of running first and thinking second, but with Williams, Currie, Dufty, Wrench (possibly) and Ashton all on one side the slightest chance of an overlap and the ball should be shipped wide to them, not a scoot up the middle to pinch a few yards.

Absolutely 100% agree. Monaghan was unfortunate but Ratchford was the victim of some standard Shaun Wane tactics. The club hasn’t felt the same since for me and hasn’t been that close to winning the big one either, even though we made the 2016 and 2018 finals I never on either occasion fancied us winning. Slow decline since 2013 for me…

Next year there are 2 plans A and B

Plan A is for DP to have a good preseason with the new players and turn things around with at least a top 4 finish

Plan B if things are going bad over say 6 games with no visible signs of improvement then LB
returns to the club from the NRL as head coach.

Simples

Hull FC's massive pack couldn't save Hodgo