Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 10:56 am  

UllFC wrote:

I agree Warrington have the edge due to experience, but I also think if Catalan manage to finish in the Top2 then they are odds on for the Grand Final as it'll be very tough for anyone to go to Perpignan in hot conditions in a one-off semi final game.

Isn't the match the weekend of 1st October? Warmer than here, but not July heat intensity I'd have thought.

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 11:07 am  

UllFC wrote:

No comparison to Leicester IMO, we've been an SL side since 1998 and have big resources, its just we've under achieved for so long that makes this year a surprise. We're more like an Everton or a Tottenham, used to be trophy winners with big, loyal fanbases but now spend a lot of time in mid-table trying to catch up with the big guns.

. The comparison was near bottom of the league to top.

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 11:11 am  

The french aren't playing particularly well and are the club most likely to drop out of the top 4 IMO (other than us when we have our usual meltdown over injuries or some such problem)

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 12:23 pm  

Mrs Barista wrote:

I think Wire have the edge simply because they've been in far more play-off football than us in recent years. Be unimaginable IMO for a team that finished 8th after 30 games last year to suddenly perform well all year and win play-off games.

As a team you don't have the same experience as Warrington but you have some very experienced leaders in your squad which I think will pull you through

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 4:40 pm  

The Sensible One wrote:

. The comparison was near bottom of the league to top.

There are also comparisons to be made between the two worst title defences ever!

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 7:39 pm  

keep injury free and we are right in the mix

[Mild Rover]

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 8:10 pm  

Mrs Barista wrote:

I think Wire have the edge simply because they've been in far more play-off football than us in recent years. Be unimaginable IMO for a team that finished 8th after 30 games last year to suddenly perform well all year and win play-off games.

More unimaginable than the treble winners of 2015 playing in the 2016 middle 8s?

There's no reason why Hull can't continue to grow and evolve as a team in the coming years. But this season offers as good a chance as any to win something. Next year, other teams are likely to imitate Hull's and Catalans' big is beautiful philosophy, even with the reduction in interchanges. That means more will be able to fight fire with fire, and the more teams that play that way, the more teams will become familiar with it. They'll still have some catching-up to do, and won't themselves benefit to the same extent, but maintaining that specific competitive advantage over years, is unlikely - if not quite unimaginable.

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 9:04 pm  

Mild Rover wrote:

More unimaginable than the treble winners of 2015 playing in the 2016 middle 8s?

There's no reason why Hull can't continue to grow and evolve as a team in the coming years. But this season offers as good a chance as any to win something. Next year, other teams are likely to imitate Hull's and Catalans' big is beautiful philosophy, even with the reduction in interchanges. That means more will be able to fight fire with fire, and the more teams that play that way, the more teams will become familiar with it. They'll still have some catching-up to do, and won't themselves benefit to the same extent, but maintaining that specific competitive advantage over years, is unlikely - if not quite unimaginable.

People seem to have this obsession with our supposedly massive team but IMO it's a bit of a myth. Our props are no bigger than most teams, our back rowers (pritchard apart) the same. We have the likes of washbrook, thompson and hadley playing regularly. ellis, manu and mini are the same size as most back rowers in SL and smaller than plenty. bowden and taylor are pretty big but no more than props elsewhere, green is big but probably the least effective of our props and watts is actually quite lean for a prop. In the backs we only really have the bin man and fonua who are bigger than average but no more than the likes of hall, sau, lineham, carney etc.

Where we seem to have an advantage is in technique, fitness and conditioning. We're not dropping off intensity towards the end of games and we play at a high tempo which is hard for most teams to live with. I don't think we're really doing anything much different to what the rest of SL are trying to do, we're just doing it more effectively

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 9:44 pm  

Mild Rover wrote:

More unimaginable than the treble winners of 2015 playing in the 2016 middle 8s?

Absolutely. How many teams have won the title from 8th the previous year? Leeds decline is a function of poor recruitment following the release of Sinfield, Peacock, Leuluia, Aiton and excessive injuries. Year over year our recruitment has been good but frankly we've not had injury crises for a few seasons, so that's not a material factor in any progression. It's unimaginable. FWIW I think Catalans and Wire will win the trophies this year, but am simply delighted to have seen such a great string of performances. Even more satisfying on the back of receiving fees for players and at the same time trading up the squad.

[Mild Rover]

Re: The time is now? : Sat Jun 04, 2016 9:55 pm  

Mrs Barista wrote:

Absolutely. How many teams have won the title from 8th the previous year? Leeds decline is a function of poor recruitment following the release of Sinfield, Peacock, Leuluia, Aiton and excessive injuries. Year over year our recruitment has been good but frankly we've not had injury crises for a few seasons, so that's not a material factor in any progression. It's unimaginable. FWIW I think Catalans and Wire will win the trophies this year, but am simply delighted to have seen such a great string of performances. Even more satisfying on the back of receiving fees for players and at the same time trading up the squad.

So, Catalans, who were 8th after 23 rounds and 7th after 30 last year, will win a trophy, but it's beyond Hull?

I can understand if you're just reluctant to say something that might jinx it.

Or maybe the accusations of arrogance, have hit a nerve, just as you (hull fans generally) do have something to be confident about?

But rationally, on current form, it's very possible. I can imagine it happening, so it is definitely imaginable.