Hull FC are quietly silencing their critics as they put old perceptions to one side

The Super League season is eleven rounds old and with every team not playing one another, it's a perfect time to take stock of Hull FC's campaign so far.

At the beginning of the year, two key objectives were consistency and home form. Addressing the former, Hull FC have been relatively consistent, certainly more so than in previous seasons and that is reflected in their position on the Super League ladder.

The Black and Whites haven't always been pretty this year but they've toughed out victories. The opening round win over Wakefield was a slog, they engaged in attritional battles against Huddersfield, Catalans and Warrington and came out on the other side of them. In contrast, they put Leeds, Salford and Toulouse to the sword.

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There have, unfortunately, been a few of those wretched displays that have reared their head. The performance against Castleford was bitterly disappointing and the manner of the derby defeat leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Nobody could accuse the Black and Whites of lacking effort but their skill levels were way off.

But excusing those two performances, FC have played pretty well. The St Helens defeat came with mitigation given the cards they were shown and they were well in the game at Wigan before falling short. The same applies to the Challenge Cup defeat to Huddersfield. Though they didn't get over the line, they were by no means poor performances.

It's worth remembering that most pundits were backing Hull FC for a bottom half finish. Instead, they are fourth. Granted, they were in a similar position this time last season before collapsing but the Black and Whites have already endured a fair amount