Exiled Wiganer

Having seen tonight's game, if I was Potter I would rest all my key players and take it easy tomorrow. He has seen Leeds get 2 players placed on report, both of whom you could expect to be banned if they weren't Leeds players, plus give everything and come up a long way short in heavy conditions. They aren't going to be caught for 3rd and Wembley brings big money.

Must be the collapsable car then.

Do you accept cheques?

If you feel so strongly, you could instigate your own man of the match award and let Hansen donate

That McClennan interview in full... "boo hoo big naughty boys with rough tackling... it's not fair... cheating wrestlers... Tomkins should have been penalised for launching his chin into lovely Ablett's arm, and as we run the disciplinary all our men will be playing again next week... boo hoo finishing top is for cheating sissies..."

Feel free. I certainly intend to park the kids in front of the computer all week end and watch it a few times myself. Lockers is a wonderful player.

Lockers has been superb all year. Well deserved win and he worked his socks off.

Dirty Leeds. I am a big fan of the club and the team generally but I can honestly say that I would be delighted if Ablett is gone for the year. That was a cowardly potential jaw breaker. To put up with that and Coley being sin binned for tackling a player and prevail shows that Wigan have character and skill in abundance. Saints can count on my enthusiastic support next week, and should be delighted that Ablett and Bailey won't be playing. We are top of the league and can be proud of our boys tonight and all year. The Minor Premiership represents the one thing we stood much chance of winning, and to win it in such style is a wonderful thing.

Having seen Leeds' squad and read their views on the game it seems as if they intend to play full throttle. Wigan will have to be at their very best to live with them. I hope it's dry so we get to see the best of both teams. It has all the ingredients of a classic.

I was hoping for a rather better catch.

That was too easy.

Do HKR even run a junior side any more? What is the point of franchising if clubs sign useless fat Aussies to steal a wage ahead of developing home grown talent?

Andrew Ryan? Do Leeds still run junior teams? What is the point of franchising if a fat Kiwi who needs to grow up gets replaced by an over the hill never was so can't even be a has been?

I hope that the Wazza hordes will still come down to London (or they could stay for the week after the Cup Final). This could be a big game in deciding where they are going to finish.

Trinity won the Academy championship last year so they clearly develop excellent young players. Plus when they have a star English player another team buys them. Anyway this is an opportunity to give Hudds and Quins a pat on the back. As pats are few and far between for the Mighty Quins this wants framing. Well done Quins! It softens the weekly blows when we get to see our home grown losing as opposed to overseas mercenaries losing.

These games have produced so many classics over the years that it may be asking too much to hope for another. Leeds are a better side, and so if they play to their full potential Wigan will lose. One thing which may tip the balance Wigan's way is having Wane in charge again after MM's sad family bereavement. He is likely to get the boys fired up, and as we have a week off we need hold nothing back. So looking forward to this - let's invoke the spirit of Brian Carney and win against the odds.

Thanks for the correction. I only had the SL fixture list to hand. If any team are good enough to win every game, it's Leeds.

Leaving aside history, I cannot see beyond Wire for this. They are simply better equipped up front than Saints, and Saints have been relying on their younger players too much and for too long. Plus, I am gueesing that the semi will loom larger on Saints' minds (given that they like the cash and have a tougher game next week), which must be a factor here, as at Headingley. Against that, though, we have the Saints' hoodoo over the Wire. I don't believe that teams bottle it. Any player that runs out to face Graham/Morley has more courage than sense. Wire's results are so anomolous statistically that, rather than say "it must end sometime" it bears closer analysis. I have no answers but I wonder whether it could be something to do with Briars under-performing, as he is pretty much the only player on Wire's side involved in the games. Particularly when Long was around, maybe Briars was conscious of having been shown the door by Saints. All groups look to their leaders, and if Briars is cowed, maybe that communicates itself to teh rest of the team? Not much of a theory but you have to start somewhere.

This isn't do or die for either team now. I was interested to read that Leeds have a full team out. Given the importance of the semi final the week after, and that Leeds should make 4th win or lose, I am puzzled by that, as I would have thought if ever there was a chance to rest players it would be Friday. Each team that has beaten Wigan this year has lost 1 of their next 2 games, which suggests to me that beating us takes a lot out of a team. Really looking forward to the game, and hoping it is relatively dry. Wigan looked much better balanced with Deacon at 7 and Sam alternating between 1 and 6, and with 4 props to take on the battle up front. Leeds are a classy club and a classy team, and are a better team than Wigan, so would ordinarily win. Given the proximity of the semi I think Wigan will win. If Leeds do win they will need to put a lot in and they are likely to suffer next week.

This isn't bad news, but you can look at this both ways. We made money because we won the Cup/we only made money because we won the Cup. As with all these figures, they can only be made sense of in full when the ownership structure and the owner's capacity to pay is taken into account. With rich owners committed to the club avoiding making big losses is key. Without that, then the figures could look really worrying. In Wire's case, their crowds are incomparably better than in Wilderspool days, as they are in Hull, which is very good news. I have looked for the obligatory anti-Wigan dig, but it is too sor me. I did enjoy the emphasis on the wonder of the Cup. This time last week, the Cup was merely one part of an inevitible treble.

I agree with your analysis, save only that I think Bradford will lose all their games apart from the Cats one (I'm assuming Cats will rest everyone). That would still leave Cas in the 8, which is a great achievement again given how bad they have been at times. Is there improved form simply because they got their key men back?

44 6 is taking a big bite out of the points difference deficit for 2nd, with 3 easy fixtures to follow next Saturday's game...

I thought the Bulls' turn over had dropped significantly, hence their being unable to spend up to the cap? I think SL without the Bulls would be awful and an injustice, but if they get 1 point for abiding by the rules (which everyone will get), and 1 for junior development, which I had not particularly seen the evidence for, but am happy to concede, then I still can't see where the rest of their points would come from if everyone got new grounds. Of course that is v unlikely, but I could see 2014 being a nervous year.

If Cas, Wakey and Salford score new stadia points, and Cru and Quins/London/sarf stay in as expansion clubs, isn't Bradford the bottom club - old ground, crowds less than 10k, youth development no better than anyone else, turnover low, not finishing above 8th on average. Would they score any points?

They have the additional motivation of 2nd place to aim for now as well I suppose. I would be surprised if they won comfortably, but they still have plenty of been there done that players.