I really enjoy watching Hull FC play. Their form can be inconsistent and enigmatic, which is what holds them back from being a more established top-four club, but at their best they are extremely entertaining and can produce some box office rugby league. Their wonderful wins over Castleford and Catalans in recent weeks have served as a reminder of what talented individuals Lee Radford possesses in his ranks, and how when they are on song, they can be as good as anyone. Despite making a poor start to the season, FC find themselves 3rd in the league table, just two points behind a faltering Wire side, meaning that Saturday's semi really is very evenly poised. This was quite a difficult task because there are great players on both sides (and in a lot of cases, in the same positions), but here goes...
Full Back - Stefan Ratchford
We are starting to really miss Stefan Ratchford, in my opinion. Jake Mamo is a fine attacking player because of his pace, but lacks the defensive discipline that Ratchford does, and also doesn't have the final ball in attack that the former Salford man is well-known for. Jamie Shaul is a good player for Hull FC, but for me Ratchford is better, and possesses a more well-rounded game. He is also an excellent goal-kicker, and has a good creative game - something which we are missing from our attacking structure right now.
Winger - Ratu Naulago
In all the years I've watched rugby league (and football for that matter) I'm not sure I've seen anyone as lightning-quick as Naulago. The man is electric. I saw his try away at Catalans a few weeks ago where he collected a grubber kick from Hull's own in-goal area, and then raced the length of the field before touching down. Sensational. For me there are four outstanding wingers in Super League this season - our own Josh Charnley, St Helens' Tommy Makinson, Catalans star Fouad Yaha, and Ratu Nalago. Brilliant player to watch and 11 tries in 15 appearances is very impressive.
Centre - Bryson Goodwin
Recently we have seen Josh Griffin play at centre for Hull FC, though I have opted to use him in the second row, where he has previously played a lot of his rugby. Goodwin is by far Wire's best centre and will be missed next season I feel. He is a big try threat, with eight scores to his name this season. He is also a good carrier of the ball and makes plenty of metres, particularly in his own half. He puts in a good shift defensively and is an asset to the team.
Centre - Jake Connor
Jake Connor is one of the most exciting players to watch in Super League. He has a remarkable amount of ability and is ridiculously skilful. He put in a virtuoso performance a few weeks back as FC nailed a great win at Castleford, with Connor delivering a delicious offload on the way to the win. There is a real case that he is the best centre in the league along with Mark Perciva, Oliver Gildart and Bill Tupou and would improve any team. 13 try assists is an outstanding return for a centre, a real indicator of his creative game - so much so that he has been trusted to play at six when Albert Kelly has been injured. No doubt about his selection here, although I do like Toby King.
Winger - Josh Charnley
While I admire Bureta Faraimo for Hull and loved his try at Headingley last weekend, Josh Charnley is one of the best wingers in Super League and was an automatic choice here. Charnley is one of the best defensive wingers in the league and is brilliant at carrying the ball out from his own line. While the tries have dried up a bit in recent weeks, he is still among the top scorers in the league with 15 tries. With a more fluid partnership with his centre, he would be further up the charts.
Stand Off - Blake Austin
The joint-top scorer in the league for 2019 has been an absolute revelation at six for Wire this season. He has scored an unbelievable 18 tries, with more than half of them involving dummies or skilful play. His running game has improved as the year has gone on and perhaps most impressive is that he has largely had to run the halves himself, with Dec Patton struggling to impose himself on the team. The only criticism of Austin would be his tackling which isn't great, but his creative play and importance to the side far, far outweighs that. Teams continue to try and marshal him out of the game and though he is out of the scoring vein himself right now, he is still creating a lot of Wire's play.
Scrum Half - Marc Sneyd
Hull FC have two brilliant halves in Albert Kelly and Marc Sneyd. It was difficult to leave a player of Kelly's quality out of the side, but Blake Austin is one of few better sixes than him. At seven, I have picked Sneyd, who has starred in Super League for a number of years. He has had an influential impact throughout his career, starting at Salford, through to Castleford and now Hull FC. The 28-year-old is arguably the best goal-kicker in the league and has a wonderful in-play kicking game, as well as being one of the most reliable drop-goal merchants too, nailing two golden point winners for Lee Radford's side this season. I'm not sure how he and Austin would play together, but I'm certain that it would be better than what we have now with Patton.
Prop - Scott Taylor
Picking this prop was quite a tough call, as I had to choose between Scott Taylor and Chris Hill. Eventually I went for Taylor as I feel Hill isn't having a great season for Wire, and while his tackling and metres statistics are largely better than Taylor's, there is one stat which weighs heavily in favour of the Hull FC man - penalties. Taylor has conceded eight fewer penalties than the Warrington captain, so this formed a large basis of my decision. Furthermore, as my next three selections are all Wire, it would've felt wrong to select a pack almost entirely of Wire players, when we lose the forward battle so often.
Hooker - Daryl Clark
The likes of Lachlan Coote, Blake Austin, Jackson Hastings and Jonny Lomax will rightly be talked about as Man of Steel candidates because of their sparkling performances this year, but for me the best player in Super League in 2019 has been Daryl Clark. Clark is unbelievably consistent and performs at a top level every single week. He is absolutely essential to what Warrington do and in my opinion has now overtaken James Roby as the best nine in the league. What a player. If you told me Warrington were getting an entirely new squad and I could only keep one player, Clark would be the one I'd choose. Hull's Danny Houghton is an excellent player and probably the third best hooker in England behind Clark and Roby, but I couldn't pick anyone else on this occasion. Clark is nearly always man of the match and excels in both defence and attack. Superhuman, and my Man of Steel.
Prop - Mike Cooper
Cooper has been by far Warrington's best prop this season and is probably in the top five props in the league, alongside the likes of Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson at Saints, David Fifita at Wakefield and Liam Watts of Castleford. He is a great runner with the ball and always makes plenty of yardage after contact. He has good discipline and an excellent work-rate, as well as a decent tryscoring rate - four for the season which isn't bad for a prop. One of Wire's most consistent players.
Second Row - Ben Currie
At his best, Ben Currie is the best second rower in Super League. I don't think he's been at his best this season, but I do think a lot of the criticism surrounding him is very harsh and over the top. Despite not playing at the same level as he was before his two injuries, he's still among the top tacklers statistically in the Wire team this season, and can be relied on for big try-savers - one on Alex Walker against London, one on Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook against St Helens and one on George Lawler against Hull KR. His creative influence is starting to gather momentum too - a brilliant assist for Lineham last week.
Second Row - Josh Griffin
Next up was another difficult choice. With Currie taking one of the spots in the second row, I had to choose who to partner him. I don't rate Jack Hughes particularly highly, which led me to looking at FC's options. Recently they have been playing a back row of Mark Minichello and Sika Manu. Both are players who I like, but I couldn't leave out former Salford and Batley star Josh Griffin, who played at second row for FC earlier this season and has more recently played at his original position of centre. Griffin has a very impressive 12 tries to his name for 2019, two of which came at the end of brilliant moves in the away win over Catalans a few weeks back. Lee Radford has spoken about Griffin's future lying in the back row, such is the level of his performances there. Griffin and Currie are both versatile and can play at centre or in the second row, and Griffin's successful transition makes me wonder if Currie could spend some time there too if he doesn't get back to his best in the second row.
Loose Forward - Joe Westerman
Finally in the starting 13 I have the only player in this team to play for both teams. Westerman is an excellent loose forward and has scored ten tries, a very good return for someone playing at 13. His average metre gain is always solid and he is a good worker, a good asset to any team. I actually think Wire miss Westerman, we have real issues at loose forward where there is no clear answer to who our first choice is. Westerman's greatest moment of 2019 was dislocating his kneecap, slapping it back into place and then playing on. Rugby league. I think FC will miss him next season.
Interchange - Danny Houghton
There are two elite hookers in the league - James Roby and Daryl Clark, and then there are two in a rung below - Paul McShane and Danny Houghton. Houghton is an absolute monster in the tackle and constantly posts crazy statistics. He has also been key to Hull FC's two Challenge Cup wins, infamously preventing us from snatching glory at Wembley in the 2016 final very late on. What an option from the bench he'd be.
Interchange - Sika Manu
Manu and Minichello are doing a good job in FC's back row right now, while Hughes is a fairly consistent Wire performer. I went for Manu as a back-up second rower, because he statistically the most well-disciplined of the three. The other one I considered was Ben Murdoch-Masila for some brute force, but I don't think he offers the defensive game that Manu does.
Interchange - Chris Hill
The Wire captain is still a good prop and makes an excellent number of metres, as well as being a reliable tackler. His discipline does let him down though, and that is why he makes my interchange bench, rather than the starting team.
Interchange - Matt Davis
To fill the last spot, I wanted someone who could fill in at 13, because I have the rest of the forward positions covered with my other interchanges. Davis can do just that, and is a tackling machine. His attacking game also continues to improve as his Wire career continues. Other considerations were Joe Philbin and Sitaleki Akauola, as well as Ben Murdoch-Masila.
Coach - Lee Radford
Finally, I had to pick the coach. Steve Price has done a good job at Wire, and has improved us greatly since he began work at the start of 2018. However, until he has a trophy, it is very difficult to class Price's time in charge as a success. Lee Radford has been in charge of Hull FC since 2014 and has won two Challenge Cups - in 2016 and 2017. As well as this, he has turned FC around into a competitive force. The challenge for Radford now is to get FC closer to competing for a Grand Final. I hope that I can soon consider Price for this pick, but right now with no trophies and a largely poor recruitment record, it has to be Radford.
Let me know your thoughts on this team and whether you'd change anything, and make sure to come back to the blog this week for my match preview for Saturday's huge semi-final.
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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