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Exiled Wiganer

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Posts posted by Exiled Wiganer

  1. 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..."

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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?

  9. 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.

  10. 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?

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