And now they've scored again

Sound soft defensively

Disappointed in that. Not there so cant comment on individuals. It's a friendly and we don't want any injuries. Cobwebs blown away but still expected a better 40 min

Not defending the goal line or kicks very well by sounds of it. Scrappy all round.

All in all the first half sounded a mix bag and a typical first run out and some sloppy individual errors. Sounds like Taylor has got the bit between his teeth though.
I’m sure they’ll still be adjusting to the new structures and plays which for the majority will be quite the novelty from previous seasons. Will give Smith & the coaching staff a good view of where they are at and what areas need addressing.

poor defence Chris coupled with errors leading to tries.
Lovodua disappointing
Its a friendly but we should be winning this with the team we had out first half

Made a break from dummy half and scored. Jesus!

Can’t argue with you and agree. Dwyer sounds like he’s made a bigger impact at 9 than Lovodua so far. Think the amount of change in terms of having structures finally been put in to place will take a bit of time to get sorted.
A lot to still work on but sounds like things have been changed in the way we play which is a positive.

We've hit the front

Useful hit out.

The main things for a pre season game is to run in some tries, get some combinations going and of course avoid any injuries.

ChampagneSuperRovers can log off now.

11 academy products on.

Really pleased for Joe Cator

Much better 2nd and kept them scoreless. Pleasing that there seems to be evidence of the changes needed having been made. Not getting carried away by any means but if this had been last season at 10 nil down I doubt we’d have stuck at it.
Still very much a work in process but definite positives.

Dwyer made a big difference when he came on
Just a bit disappointed that we didnt create anything in an attacking field position
still think we will see Houghton/Dwyer as our starting nines

Pleased to see us battle back. Didn't think we'd win it going 8 points down at half time.

Did Satae and Taylor play the full first half?

How did Hoy and Clifford go?

Sounds like we made a fair few chances but just couldn't take them. Taylor held up, Swift dropped a ball after a Dwyer break and Hoy threw a forward pass to Mcintosh.

How strange that whilst your team is playing (and where you there aswell?!) You were concerned at which forum members were online! Mental. It's not like I interact much on this site which has clearly not improved over the years either


It's been a quiet afternoon in the world of RL so it was interesting to see what the verdict of pretty much the only fully competitive game today was going. (Playing your game, The Phantom Horseman is a Fev fan and was probably intrigued too!).
Nevertheless, congrats on a tough, nail-biting win and if you've avoided any injuries then that's the main relief of the game where friendlies are concerned.

Reaction from Smith

Hull FC coach Tony Smith admitted his side were "undercooked" after they fought back to beat Sheffield Eagles 22-20 at Olympic Legacy Park in a pre-season friendly.

In Smith's first match as Black & Whites boss, and the debut of several new signings such as Tex Hoy, Jake Clifford and Brad Dywer, the Super League side downed the Championship outfit by two points.

"It wasn't necessarily about the win, it was a good hit-out for us," he said.

"There was some cobwebs there and there was stuff we thought we'd have to look at and fix, probably expected in some ways. But you have to go through the pain of doing that sometimes in a friendly.

"I thought it was good for us in many ways and we got better as the game went on, controlled things and played the way we wanted to play. Earlier on we were blowing a little bit and not taking advantage of being in some good positions.

The Eagles started well and took a 20-12 lead in at half-time. Hull FC powered back in the second half, sparked in part by Dwyer, and tries to Danny Houghton and Cameron Scott.

"We're going into the season a bit undercooked," Smith said.

"I know some teams started before us and have probably done some harder stuff than us. I'm just wary of being overcooked. I don't want us to be overcooked.

"You can always put the cake back in the oven if it isn't quite cooked. We're probably not cooked enough but we've still got a month to go.

"If you're overcooked it's pretty hard to overcook yourself...But we showed good character. There was no panic. We were really grown up... we kept our composure."

Smith paid credit to Dywer for "speeding the game up".

"He was electric, he did a great job," he said.

"He's been terrific for us."

Hull FC started with a new spine with Hoy at fullback, Ben McNamara and Clifforfd in the halves, and Joe Lovodua. Hoy and Clifford have both joined from the Newcastle Knights.

"They were good, they showed some glimpses," Smith said.

"Baring in mind that's their first time those two Aussie boys have played in English conditions, English rugby league, English rules. 

"It's a fair bit to handle in a short bit of time.

"They were not bad. Each of them showed how exciting they're going to be for us. I thought it was important those two played today. 

"There were a few cobwebs, that's to expected - for all of us."

Why do we have to be over cooked or undercooked...why can't we be cooked to perfection?

As he said you can always put the cake back in the oven

Not sure why people are optimistic after today

If Hodgson had been in charge today and only beat Sheffield by 2 points with the team we played he'd been getting slaughtered

Like said earlier signings apart it's still the same players who were a shambles all last season

Smith is a great coach but he's not a miracle worker

No one was expecting an easy victory and nor should they.
Sheffield are a decent team and no mugs.

I was concerned about us getting done on the outsides during the 1st half and there were a fair few 1 on 1 tackles missed.

Got to work on our attacking and defensive structure still, which is to be expected but I was pleased with Dwyer, seemed to turn the game around single handedly.

Not over concerned with the result as it was much needed preseason hit out.

Not if someone left the cake out in the rain.

Guess it depends how long it takes to bake it

not one to get too excited/disappointed with friendly matches, but surely a match like today would be better than a 40-60 point hammering! todays scoreline shows where we need to improve on