Dave T

TBH I could have named all the towns in SL.

I must admit I find it a bit silly when these statements are made, and it has already been made a couple of times in this thread. It is burying our head in the sand if we refuse to acknowledge that we have dickheads watching our sport, whether they also support another sport or not. Warrington had plenty of problems in the 80's, some games were real no-go games, and we weren't the only team. During the 90's there was a real shift in the make-up of the Warrington crowds, and it became a much more friendly place to go as more and more families and children became involved with the club, mainly through the introduction of the Wolfpack club and the

It will certainly affect the Aussies, although they do have plenty of strength in depth, maybe not with the flair of the above players though. The important thing is that the England team continue to play with the confidence that they did last year. In the two games against the Aussies we were the better team for probably 100 of the 180 minutes, but the Aussies blew us away and were ruthless during their purple patches. If we can learn from this, and learn to deal with the difficult conditions, then there is no reason why we can't go and challenge. I think we could do with the likes of Eastmond and Tomkins on top form and full fitness, and due to a lower level of strength in depth, I think it would be harder for us to replace 4 major players like the Aussies.

Think this quote from the above article sums it up perfectly: The new Wembley may still be waiting for its first classic Challenge Cup final but, as an example of ruthless forward power, brilliantly orchestrated by a half-back at the peak of his form, this will take some beating.

Personally I'm a touch surprised that anybody posted any serious answers on this dire thread, but I do have to pull you on this one. Prior to this year, we were getting similar comments due to the fact that we didn't meet Leeds or Saints, and now we did meet the champion team and beat them comprehensively, we still get similar comments. It's not our fault that Saints get knocked out by other teams (who we then go on to beat). People only bring Saints up because of this hoodoo they have over us, not because they are the best team in the country. We recently beat the best team in the country at their place, and have just beaten the champions at Wembley, not too much more we can do. As for the OP, it's ######, certainly from the media side. I was surprised how much favourable press Wire were getting in the build up, with major features on the Myler decision, Lee Briers and Adrian Morley etc. At times a neutral probably couldn't work out who we were playing! As for some fans not giving credit, well unfortunately, that is black and white, it's your fault on here.

I disagree with plenty in this thread tbh. As has been pointed out, Briers played in the '08 qualifying and couldn't carry the team, it is too much of an ask, and as good as his distribution and vision is, he at least needs a few others round him to be on his wavelength! As for the above post, he really hasn't been poo for 8 of his last 10 years, it is wrong to state that. At times he has been in a terrible team at Warrington, and has had to carry the team. People love to bang on about his off-field issues, but then Long and Gleeson have had plenty and played well. Briers has been very good throughout his career, maybe not as consistent as he could have been, but he has wone more matches for us single-handedly possibly than any other player in recent Wire history. In terms of injuries, you are also wrong there, he has played fewer SL games this year than since 2003, and the 2nd lowest of his career. The real difference in Briers now (IMHO) is that he doesn't have to do everything for the team. Sure he is still a big part, but the likes of Clarke, Monaghan, King, Mathers etc all take some of the responsibility, meaning that Briers is generally quieter than he has ever been in games, but can now add more quality to the team instead of quantity. He wouldn't be in that position for Wales.

Thanks, but to be fair, I'd like to think that l'ange knows my style tbh, even if he did take offence to the post in question. I have no issue with Fev or their fans.

Apologies if it came across like that, certainly didn't mean it to, but the fact is that most people who go to home games, perhaps nip for a few beers at the very most and watch the match and go home. That's the way at every club, except perhaps some Friday and Saturday big games where people use it to start the night off. I have no interest in who's fans are best, in my opinion there is no such thing as 'best fans', I simply challenged Lowfield's involvement in this thread, finding him bringing up a game from months back pretty strange. We have seen the youtube videos, many Fev fans treated that game like a big away day, there is no getting away from that fact, I'm glad they enjoyed themselves, I just found it strange that it was to be brought up on this thread, when there is no reason on earth why the Wire fans would be dancing around bladdered in the Hop Pole at midday! It just didn't make any sense. You won't find me ever stating that Wire fans are better (or worse) than anyone else, as personally I class myself as a RL fan first and foremost, and have respect for anyone that supports our game.

Genuinely hope not mate. He seems a good bloke, and whatever flaws he has, he works bloody hard and is as passionate as anyone playing in SL at the moment...

I agree. Whilst I will show faith in Smith as he hasn't done too much wrong at Wire so far, I am not overly happy with another ageing player in Hodgson. We are then looking at having our main playmakers (Briers, Hodgson, Monaghan, Clarke etc. along with our skipper Morley) on the wrong side of 30. Hopefully they will help to bring the young lads through, but we need to be careful IMHO.

Yep, and tbh at

Good post. I must admit to being a touch worried the other day when it looked like it could kick off and become worse than it did. It is pretty rare to see full on brawls in a crowd, as often it is just pushing and shoving and stewards step in and stop it, but this one could have got worse. Last year I had drunk quite a bit, however am never aggressive or ruin other people's experience, unfortunately plenty of others can't say the same. This year I had about three pints prior to the game, and one in the stadium, and I must admit I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than last year, and appreciated the actual game more. A member of our group had about 8 pints in the game, and was a pain in the ###### tbh. Whilst I enjoy a pint during the match, I would rather see a ban during the match if that means fewer incidents.

Don't worry, it'll all change once you are back in SL!!!

Not sure who you mean by 'he' - do you mean Morley or Wendall? If it's the latter then I'll let you off! A first round game at Warrington is pretty novel to be fair, it hasn't happened for a long time, and fair play, your fans looked like they had a good time, but then so do fans of all clubs when they have an away day, especially when it is a game that is slightly out of the ordinary. Not really sure why you had to turn it into a fan comp really, and as for your last line, I would expect all of our fans have seen us win the thing at least twice now bearing in mind we have won it two years running.

And also, Leeds recovered that situation really well with an excellent tackle to get Atkins in touch, so it was pretty much cancelled out IMO.

Jees Lowfield, you still banging on about this game, just because you lot turned up and had a good away day? Plenty of teams' fans have a better time when they have a big away game. Please don't take this the wrong way, but it was novel for your fans to have a trip to Warrington, playing in a game with a crowd three or four times your regular crowds, whereas it was a bog-standard home game against a lower division team with a lower crowd than normal for the home fans, so clearly the Warrington fans wouldn't be dancing around in pubs bladdered at midday.

Absolutely agree, and it wasn't a criticism of Silverwood as it was a tough call, as if he did see it, he will have simply seen it hitting something yellow, which both kits had plenty of, and that same excuse can certainly be used for the linesman too. I suspected there was an offside, however you can only pull the game up if you see it, and I don't think anybody could be sure until the replay came, which was too late for a VR decision to be called for. Whilst it may have been at a crucial time, I'm glad it didn't turn out to be the match-winning try, and there is certainly an argument for a forward pass for the Leeds try anyway.

Common sense should have prevailed, and I think you are spot on with the third try, and Silverwood clearly couldn't tell a yellow ###### from an elbow. There are two issues which should be cleared up for future years. As has been said, Leeds only true colour clash all year is Warrington, and it doesn't make sense to have the same colours for home and away kits. Warrington have done this in the past, and it is silly. This shouldn't be allowed to happen, there is no reason why Warrington should have to wear their away kit at home (they didn't in the league game, and there was a clash there too). The second thing, the RFL should have ensured that there was an adequate difference, and if that meant changing protocol so that Warrington would have had to wear their 2nd strip, then so be it, although this should be pre-empted in the first place.

1 - harsh, but 2 - Great to hear, love hearing examples of new fans loving our game, it's been a pleasure having the likes of Cofi on here this year for example. 3 - Thanks for acknowledging that, I only got to watch the match again last night, and based on some of the comments here I wondered whether my perception of our performance had been influenced by the occasion, but actually, I still think we were excellent, and it is good that some people can acknowledge that.

TBH mate, I think a few people are a touch lazy with their summary of the game being that Leeds were dismal and Wire just did what they had to. Funnily enough we haven't had any credit on this cup run, as apparently Hudds and Catalans were also dire and offered no opposition whatsoever. The fact is that this Leeds team are a big game team, look what they have done to Saints for the last few years, yet we did the same to Leeds. The fact is that Leeds weren't horrendous, they were just outplayed on the day. Their forwards couldn't make the hard yards, and this then made the playmakers look out of sorts. It's not as if the team was falling off tackles left right and centre or making error after error (the last error stat I saw was 9-8 in Wire's favour), they simply lost the arm wrestle against a superior pack, and Warrington's scrambling defence was outstanding. I posted this on another thread, but I am disappointed with some people's summary of the game being low on quality, I completely disagree. It may not have been tense and close, but like the Grand Final a couple of years back when Leeds beat Saints 33-6, it was enoyable and high on quality play. Whilst I appreciate that Warrington are not a popular team on these boards, I think it is good for the game that a team outside of the traditional Super League Big 4 put in a performance like that against one of the traditional giants. Prior to the start of the season, Leeds were hot favourites for everything, and nobody looked past Leeds and Saints. So far, two trophies have been decided and they haven't won any of them.

At the start of the game, I thought the stadium looked stunning, it was packed, apart from Club Wembley. Sure there may have been the odd little block, but you may have been talking blocks of 30-40 seats from clubs who hadn't sold their allocation for example. Also, one point about blocks of red seats, there were a couple of sections at the Leeds end where there were fans of a club in all red shirts, and on TV i thought they looked like empty seats!!! Unfortunately, due to the fact that people are drinking themselves silly, people are up and down queuing at the bar and toilet, meaning that the actual stadium doesn't stay full for long!

Good points - pretty much everything about the actual match! Bad points - for the second year running the whole pre and post-match experienced was ruined by the absolutely shocking sound system. It really is the worst I have experienced at any stadium I have ever been to.

Something I have thought before, and maybe this is quite negative, but why not have a 3rd place playoff, and hold a double header at Wembley on final day? I know it is manipulating things to ensure that England are pretty much guaranteed to appear on the finals day, but hey, we need to be realistic about what we can achieve. Another alternative is to have a double header at Wembley for the semi finals, and then the Final at a more reasonable stadium like the City of Manchester Stadium.

To be fair mate, that's not just Saints fans, it's just pretty natural that when you get gangs of lads ###### up, you will get some instances of trouble,whether that is in the pub before or after, unfortunately this was highlighted more as it was during the game. This is why it is not really hooliganism as such, it is cimply feckwits who can't handle their beer, and I don't think it really matters who they support, they will happily brawl with their own fans no problem.

Not getting involved in the childish arguments, but it is always disappointing to see trouble in or around a ground. One point I will make is that I have also seen trouble at Grand Finals involving Wigan v Bradford and Saints v Leeds. Unfortunately there will always be blokes who can't handle their beer. I actually thought the stewards were pretty poor, as you could see it was going to go off for about 5minutes. The fans were stood up watching it escalate, and only a few security blokes went down. Only a few blokes actually involved in the fight, but then you obviously get other people being knocked over, which is pretty disappointing as it could have happened in our corner, where I was stood with my mum and dad and my mate had his toddlers, and that's not good if innocent people are getting caught up in it.