Exiled Wiganer

Wigan have won plenty of pressure games this year. We lost in the Cup, but then every team aside from Wire lost in the Cup. We won away at Leeds, Saints, HKR and the Wire, all of which had considerable pressure attached to them. We lost to a brilliant Leeds side twice by the narrowest of margins in the last few minutes, so I don't see any evidence to suggest we can't play very well indeed under pressure. Even if we lose, which I think is unlikely, we have had a brilliant season and have won 1 of the 3 Cups on offer to us (plus the 9s!). It might be the equivalent of football's League Cup, but it is testimony to being the best team home and away over the season and that is a wonderful achievement. Plus we have played with more style and verve than for years.

Given your propensity foir spreading vitriol, I would have thought you'd feel right at home. Wire should win, as they have shown they are streets ahead of the Giants already this year. I think both round 1 losers this year have shown they are robust enough to bounce back from last week's defeats. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brett Hodgson go MIA again - he certainly started his Wire career early in the Cup. Should be easy street for Wire.

Emmitt will be a great signing. Not flashy, but will take it up and knock people over all day. Unless I am missing something he is in Saints' first choice 17 these days - not bad for a 20 year old prop.

Wigan should win, having comfortably won the 2 previous matches. Feca back is good news, and our backs ought to have enough to see us home. It will be interesting in both games to see whether last year's trend continues, where both the losing teams fall to the week 1 winners.

This thread has been accompanied by the sing along classic "and we all hate Wigan and we all hate Wigan and we all hate Wigan" as covered by Wendy and the Wendallettes.

This thread has been accompanied by the sing along classic "and we all hate Wigan and we all hate Wigan and we all hate Wigan" as covered by Wendy and the Wendallettes.

I enjoyed this game as much as any defeat I can remember in a long while, given that Wigan played with guts and skill, and so re-watched the game. I must say that my initial opinion was confirmed, that Alibert did very well and acted exactly right on these incidents. It is a shame that McGuire got injured at all, and especially in the manner he did so, as he has been playing very well. Without him and Buderus they could struggle a bit in the semi. It really was a wonderful game. We have had some treats in SL this year.

It is a valid point, though the messenger has so much previous that PMJ's default reaction is fair and reasonable. I think it is likely that Sam will play a lot at 1 over the next couple of years and then come back and settle at 6 (where he plays a fair bit during games he starts at 1 in any event). With Myler's career going rapidly into reverse, we need Sam to play alongside Eastmond at 6 for now. Widdop looks plenty good enough to me, but I can't see much back up. I thought Owen looked like he could really step up, such a shame he was so badly injured and that Mathers will block his way next year.

Wigan stand no chance of winning this game with Bentham in charge. It's a disgrace.

And the point of this thread?

Typical idiot. That is a really considered contribution. The world is a better place for that insight. As for your sign off comment, I would have been disappointed had my 3 year old come out with that, even about St Helens. Joel is increasingly a liability to his club and himself. With Farrell coming on, Hoffman, Hock and Mossop coming back he will struggle to play much next year.

Really sad news. It is a shame that he did it in the manner he did, but good news that Carmont wasn't injured. He will be missed by England, at this rate we should try Widdop at 6, Sam at 7 and Wellens at 1. Here's hoping he comes back as good as ever.

Wigan have been to both grounds and won already this year. We have to overcome HKR even to be chosen, and that will be difficult. Moreover Wire have to beat an in form and talented Giants team. Generally, Wigan - Leeds and Saints - Wire games seem to produce classics, so if I were a neutral I would enjoy a repeat.

12k is a decent effort. I thought Lee didn't care about attendances yesterday?

I think that's wishful thinking. The pressure is off Wigan. We have already won the league and exceeded expectations. To my mind it is rare for a game to be won or lost for non player/rugby reasons. Wigan have a stronger back 5, ok halves and a pack that can match Leeds. The 3 games have resulted in 2 comfortable wins for Wigan and one tight defeat. If Leeds win it will be because they have re-found the ability and desire that has made them 3 times champions. At the start of the year I thought it would be Leeds 1st and daylight second. They are a wonderful teams with wonderful players, and if they win that's the first place to look for answers. Good luck to both teams (not Ablett of course). These are 2 classy clubs and 2 classy teams - they oftne give us a treat. Let's hope they do so again tonight.

I think Wigan will win because our back 5 is very good indeed, and Deacon will have enough time and space behind a pack able to earn parity to control the play. Leeds have a better pack than Wigan when Peacock and Burgess are fit. WIthout them, and particularly with Hansen back, we should have enough. Of course Leeds are serial champions and may produce a run of irresistible form, but that would shock me.

But even if you look at who makes the most breaks and metres and consider week in and week out consistency Richards scores very highly. HAnd he is never spelled or rested. The stats confirm the evidence of the eye - Richards has been phenomenal this year. I would not cry if Morley or Westwood won, as they have been exceptional this year, and ironically Roby has looked abetter player this year than when he was mysteriously given the award a few years ago. It has been the best year in SL for a long time iun terms of top class talent across the board and there are many worthy candidates. Richards would get my vote but there are other worthy causes.

I was thinking that he might be able to achieve some form of personal redemption if he was to have a stoosh with Big Willie next year. It could do him the world of good. He has been a good prop forward this year. Unlike the 3 great props he needs to work as part of a unit. Where we have gone into games light up front he has been easily targeted. Certainly he has played his best rugby for us this year.

Incidentally, Pat was clear winner of the RLWA player of the year award. Morley was second. This is tribute to a great man and a great player. It is worth bearing in mind that he had not kicked goals before coming here, and that the jury was very much out on him in his first year with Wigan (in those dark days of yore). His dedication to the Irish cause also deserves respect. I was lucky enough to be at Parra when he helped Ireland to victory over Samoa. I was sitting with the Parra directors and when his name came up the one to my left said "A wonderful man - we would have him back tomorrow", which was the only good thing he said about any non Parra player all evening.

Richards could not do more than he has done - he turns up and performs every week - taking the ball up, saving tries, kicking and running the ball mile after mile. To be top try scorer and kicker and also be consistently one of the best players in the league's top team he has done everything which any winger can have done. Whether a winger can ever be "steely" enough to win this is a different matter. If it is who would win in a fight then it probably wouldn't be Pat (it would be McIllorum out of Wigan's squad).

One of the great things about being League Champions is that I will not feel down hearted about a defeat until next March. Noble's approach was an interesting one though, last year building momentum so that we ended up almost nicking a place at OT even though we had lost as many games as we had won. If we had managed a win he'd have been vindicated fully. Excitement and disappointment are always measured against expectation (so that Atkins will presumably be disappointed with anything short of the Treble), and Wigan have far exceeded mine thus far. I wasn't even confident we'd make the top 4, let alone win the league. One final factor that will mitigate any disappointment if we bow out without even getting to OT, is that none of our players is a veteran, and we can expect improvement from the young guns who won us the league, and from our new overseas players who are of a calibre far above the men they are replacing...

Here is my take on it... After last week end you could make a strong case for Wigan, Saints and Wire. Wire may have now overcome their big game issues sufficiently to beat Saints away (as they will surely have to do), and would back themselves in a final against Wigan. But can they win at KR and can their older players get up for big games week after week? Wigan should be favourites against an off colour and injury depleted Leeds, whom they may play twice. I think it would be a toss up in a Wigan-Saints final, with the local rivalry helping Wigan lift their game despite lack of big game experience. In many respects this would be the dream final. Saints can find ways to beat Wire, beat them away recently and with a weaker side. They have so much experience of winning games and KC will leave nothing out there. But they have problems in the halves which may come back to haunt them at some point, with Eastmond looking very brittle at the moment. Leeds look like they have lost their way (though have plenty of talent and could surprise us). Without Peacock, they are weakened in the same way as Saints would be without Graham or Wire without Morley - their pack has no other natural leader to whom they can look. If he is genuinely injured (and given his miraculous recoveries this year they may be lying about it), then I could see them losing both against Wigan and the Giants. Hull FC away to Wire should be a good game, with Long by then 3 games into his comeback. FC can be a dangerous side, and their pack won't be bullied by Wire. Here are my guesses - Wigan beat Leeds and Saints beat Wire; Giants beat Cru and FC beat HKR; Giants beat Leeds and Wire beat FC; Wigan choose and beat Giants (assuming we don't have a back line of Marsh, Pryce, Tomkins and Richards), Saints beat Wire; Saints beat Wigan...

Great to read such an optimistic slant. You're right of course if you hadn't lost the games you did lose you would have been top and on the way to the Treble. Surely you could cut and paste a league table electronically, put in the corrected results and make yourself League Champions. You could put it up here as THE REAL LEAGUE TABLE! Wire were flat because they are able to get up for a one off games, but not back it up every week. When your key men have a lot more time behind them than in front of them it's hard to life every week. Next week's game at KR should be a really good one. With the oldsters given a week off they might be fresh enough to do something they have failed to do for years. Then again...

At the start of the year I thought FC were a better bet for Grand final glory than Wigan, and I agree that if Long, Fitzg and O'Meley had been fit and firing for longer together they would be real contenders. They will win this against a Leeds side creaking at the seams, but will not make OT.

With so many of the older (and best) Wire players being rested, and Quins with a great deal to play for, I think this will go the same way as Wire's away game against lowly Catalans after they exhausted themselves against Wigan, and be a home win to see Brian Mc on his way in style.