I'm happy with the squad, especially knowing that we have cap space to big a player in should we need it.

On the face of it, we're probably a forward light in that we've lost Pritchard & Feka from the squad but not brought anyone in. But, I think we have to trust Radford & the staff that they're confident that the younger lads can step up if/when needed.

With Tala Fonua and griffin in the backs taking a lot of work out of the pack with their size and strength we can afford to carry connor on the bench. Gives us a great balance.

Agree we need a third front line prop. Rely way too much on Liam & Scott - we wore them out through overuse last season.

Josh & Chris also dipped as season wore on - both need to up it consistently to spread the workload more evenly.

We are just about capable up front but IMO too dependant on too few blokes, 2 injuries to our big boys would really hurt.

Id prefer to see tala and griffin doing that sort off work in opposition half , rather than our own 20, just think our bench needs to make a differance instead of seeming like a stop gap until our better players have a rest , at least with pritchard it felt like he was bringing something to the team when he came on

Completely disagree about Green. Thought his 2nd half of the season was his best run at the club, backed up after Wembley really well IMO. As others have said the players most likely to break through are all back rowers so push Ellis/Thompson to prop if injuries and let these guys come through.

They do both. Tala was both our top try scorer and the main man at getting us going. Griffin is just going to add to that. A tremendous asset to have such massive units in the backs with the skill sets they have.
It's often Tala that makes the forwards look better in the first place. I'm sure they don't want him to change his style any time soon.
Didn't think the bench played like stop gaps tbf. Frank was a big part granted but Bowden and green were big for us for lots of games and washy straightened us up and added some direction in many games

Bowden started the season really well, green was ok with a some good games back end off the season, think thompson probably the best impact from the bench for next year . Agree about tala , would just like to see more from all of our backs in opposition half, and if we aint, we need a bench of forwards who can make an impact , and I dont think we have

Radders could potentially start with Hadley & Manu in the second row and play Mini from the bench to provide that impact.

Green is also capable of doing so, if he can carry on the form from the Cup final onwards, the guy is massive and should be bullying opposition defences.

Green, Bowden, Mini & Connor isn't a bad bench at all really.

Hadley wouldn't be in my 17, and definitely not the 13, mini always a starter for me Green, Bowden hopefully better after another year playing plenty, connor can change things, Id go with Thompson over Hadley for bench spot, would of looked a lot better with Pritchard on the bench imo

I like Hadley, he's pretty solid and I'd like to see him get plenty of game time this year to allow him to step up and replace Mini/Ellis the year after. Mini, Ellis and Manu (who knows how serious a back op it was) are all another year older, so we need to make sure rotation is spot on to get the most amount of games out of them. Hadley, Washbrook or Thompson can all spell any of them.

Really? I rate Hadley. Although it's either starter or nothing for Hadley really as his game suits playing longer minutes. Mini is certainly better, but having him on the bench could give us the balance & impact over 80 minutes to really wear defences down.

Tommo I don't particularly rate. He's capable of the odd big run and making a half break, but I think he's a little bit anonymous in defence and makes a fair few mistakes positionally around the ruck and at A/B defender, which result in problems. Plus he seems to be favoured playing down the middle rather than wider in the 2nd row channel.

Agree on Pritchard. I used to get a warm feeling knowing that after 20mins or so he'd be unleashed.

Unless there is a big improvement in Thompson he shouldn't be near our starting 17 (depending on injuries) apart from the odd moment he has been poor the last two seasons, needs to find a position as not sure were he fits in. Should be behind Hadley and Washy in the pecking order and personally I would rather see the likes of Masi or Turgut given a chance as at least they have some potential.

I hope I'm wrong but I feel we have moved up a level the last two years and Thompson has been found out abut.

That's the reason why we need another forward.

The trouble is if we go out and sign another forward, it puts the likes of Osborne, Matongo, Fash, Turgut, Downs et al. further down the pecking order. There's probably only going to be one of Washy, Hadley and Thompson playing each week, which means we can provide cover to two injuries before having to rely on the youngsters. Having not seen any of the 23s games last year I have absolutely no idea how well theyd fit into the first team, but if I've learnt anything over the past couple of years it's to trust the people that see these blokes day in, day out.

Hadley have always rated and think he can be a very good player for us. Thompson hasn't cut it for me. Time to give some of the youngsters a go turgut etc . Let's see if they can step up if needed

You might be proven correct should injuries strike and the young lads don't quite make the step up, but the fall back is that we should still have a chunk of cap space available should we need to go out and sign another forward.

Granted it's slim pickings mid season, but there are always options, and sometimes pretty goods ones too as we saw with Fifita at Wakey & Segeyaro at Leeds last year.

Thompson is only a year older than Hadley, and bar far the most promising of our fringe players, the odd moment? are you serious, not near our 17, think that's seriously harsh, If you was talking about Hadley, id agree

I agree, I rate Thompson and would rather him in the 17 than Hadley.

For me I think they are decent honest squad players but its not an easy choice between Thompson & Hadley as they are both different types of players. Hadley is reliable and will carry out the coaches plan and will do the hard yards all day long. Thompson for me is abit of an enigma, he can be either pretty good or anonimous, he has good speed, good footwork and can create space for himself but can also be unreliable at times.

with Hadley you get reliability & Thompson either good or unreliable so it all depends on what we need in a game but Thomspon although not as reliable does offer more than Hadley so its bit of a catch 22 in someways.

I think both will need to up their game to get a shout in the 17 next season.

If we're going to be successful beyond a year or two we need some of these younger players to come through and play regularly so maybe we need to accept that we maybe take a short term hit for the longer term gain. We probably have 4 or 5 forwards who have the potential to come through and be first team regs and if 2 or 3 do then we will be in a good position going forward

For me, Hadley has proved his worth over the last couple of seasons, 2016 in particular. With the likes of Ellis, Mini etc likely to retire in the near future we need to promote players internally where possible. Hadley has shown he can be effective and consistent, and is still relatively young. For me, the potential and progression he has shown so far, if he keeps going the way he is he could very well be one of the first names on the team sheet in a few years time, and a key part of our pack (hopefully alongside Watts, Taylor and Houghton).

On the general recruitment being done comment, I'm now happy where we are. I think we have strength in depth and a set of talented youngsters champing at the bit to get their chance. I've said it before but I'd love to see a Hull FC v Hull FC u23s match, potentially as part of a family day in pre-season. Making that an annual thing would be a great way to see how the youth are coming on, and allow them to test themselves against the first team. You'd need to draft a few players in from the COHA, but it would be excellent to see how good our squad is/can become.

I also agree.

Both have a mistake in them but Thompson has a bit of pace and footwork that means he can make a break.

Hadley is the more reliable defender but I would still prefer to see Thompson in the side before him more often than not.

Thompson was a utility back originally when we signed him, doesn't get a lot of game time often coming on only in the second half. I think he needs more minutes to get into a game
It's too easy to say X hasn't done this or that but look at Abdul, gets thrown in and expected to perform to a top 4 SL standard when he's hardly had any game time. Started a grand total of 7 games for us with sub twice. Yes he should have being fitter but asking a young half to come into and be expected to play to X std when it's been 15 days since your last game with Fev in championship is failing to understand how players need time in matches to improve and get settled.
I think using the forwards more wisely than last year is essential for us to progress, that and Kelly to have a stellar season.

Totally agree good post