For anyone that knows me, works with me or follows me inane Jermaine Beckford and Millie Clode-related ramblings on my Twitter account then you will know that the sport of rugby league means a lot to me.
Taking my beloved Leeds United out of the equation, it is by far and away my favourite sport and, the game that in my job as a sports journalist, the one that I love covering the most. I've been bombing up and down the M62 for the last six years covering the sport, taking in some pretty special matches, witnessing some wonderful players and some pretty awful ones (Gary Carter from the Sun will tell you how much critcism I used to give the Crusaders' Mark Dalle Cort).
Covering the game has introduced me to some great people and helped me come across some truly great journalists, whose level of ability I can only aspire to. I include my 'mentor' Ian Laybourn very much in that bracket.
Now, more by default than anything else, I find myself on the 'committee' of the Rugby League Writers Association (memberships now being taken etc) and have done by level best to get on as well as I can.
However, one aspect of 'the game' still frustrates me slightly, and that is the ignorance, or what I perceive to be ignorance, that some sections of the media and the sport have towards the two Hull sides.
Throughout the six years I have been covering the sport, I have mainly followed the fortunes of Hull FC and Hull KR, two bitter, bitter rivals but both from a city that lives and breathes rugby league. The progress that Hull KR have made since their elevation to the Super League has been impressive, with coach Justin Morgan doing something of a 'Sam Allardyce' in quickly bridging the gap between Division One and the top flight.
They are now a stable top-eight club and, with a couple of handy signings over the winter, they should have enough to go deep into both competitions next season.
Likewise Hull FC, who are main crux of what I have on my mind.
I have covered all but a handful of every one of their home games for the last six seasons and have been lucky enough to follow their fortunes at close hand. I witnessed John Kear build a side that won the Challenge Cup in 2005, only to be sacked six months later, and then was blessed enough to see what I consider their best side of the last decade, the one coached by Peter Sharp, go all the way to the Grand Final in 2006.
I have fond memories of that time, probably allowing how good my own life was at the time to influence my memory on how good a side they were, but still. Sharp was a fair coach and a great guy to boot, and his captain and close friend Richard Swain remains the best player I have ever seen in the flesh.
Since Sharp headed back to his now infamous house on Manly beach in May 2008, the club had bobbed around in the bottom three of the ladder - until this year. Richard Agar, schooled under Kear and Sharp, is now the head honcho and, despite numerous criticisms from the punters, has taken them from two 12th-placed finishes (admittedly under his leadership) to what will be a top-four finish if they beat Leeds this weekend.
They have actually manned the top four for the majority of the season. That's right, don't adjust your monitors. They have. You might not know it, though. Why? Because those of you that follow the game on Sky or in some quarters of the media may not know that, as it has often been portrayed this season that Wigan, Warrington, St Helens and Leeds have made up the top four. Not so. That may be the case on Saturday night if Leeds win at Hull (this fixture surely a dream for the RFL), but I personally don't think it's fair the way the top-four has been advertised this season.
I have seen at first hand how hard Agar and his staff, not to mention his players, have worked this season to engineer an eight-place swing. Granted, their last three appearances on Sky haven't helped them (licked by Wigan, Warrington and Wakefield), but had the Sky cameras been present at their stunning comeback-win over St Helens, they would still be raving about it to this day.
But, I digress. The Super League Dream Team is announced next week and, while the majority of us can guess at a number of the players, there are still a lot of places that should be up for grabs, although I don't necessarily expect them to go to, in my opinion, the most deserving candidate.
Hull KR's Clint Newton has been outstanding this season and, with 12 tries in his last 12 games, has a better scoring record than a number of the backs I have seen banded about in various members of the media's sides. Likewise, the young Hull KR forward Liam Watts has been ridiculously good this year and I would challenge anyone to find me a more improved forward in the competition.
I fully expect Hull's Tom Briscoe to land one of the wing spots and rightly so, as he is a genuine talent. Strong, great under the high ball and a lethal finisher, he could surely hold his own in the NRL one day. The hardened Australian pair of Mark O'Meley and Craig Fitzgibbon have been magnificent for Hull too, although I don't envisage either will break the Warrington/Wigan strangehold that is likely to dominate the pack. The duo came with injury warnings and, while they have missed some games through various problems, their contributions have been immense.
Likewise that of Willie Manu. The Tonga forward could well be lining up for England in the Four Nations at the end of the season, so at least someone recognises what a fine player he is. I don't expect him to oust Joel Tomkins or Ben Westwood, but just so people know, he is out there.
So what's the point of this ramble? Well, I'm not too sure I know, but I started it with the intention of trying to point out that Rugby League does exist to the east of Xscape on the M62 and that despite what you may be told, both sides are in pretty reasonable shape. And, while you may not hear the names Newton, Manu, Watts or even Lovegrove and Houghton mentioned when the various awards are handed out over the next month, please don't think that they haven't had good seasons. Because trust me, they have.
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