Chris22

I thought the game had a lot of similarities with Catalans semi final last weekend. Against a well organised defence, Catalans never really looked like breaking Wigan down and lacked ideas (as they did against St Helens the week before). Where Catalans were excellent was their scramble defence. Some of the efforts to stop Wigan tries were unbelievable. I don't think anyone can deny Wigan deserved to win on the night and over the course of the season. If anything, on the balance of play perhaps it should have been a little more comfortable for Wigan. It wasn't the most exciting game in my view but the tension of a close run final helped compensate for that. Wigan's extra dynamism in attack was probably the difference. I also thought Harry Smith was outstanding. I've never particularly rated him but over the last few months he seems to be developing into a classy player.

Quite a bit to unpack. I note the word "broadcast" rather than "televised", not sure if I'm reading too much into this but maybe plenty of games on YouTube or the Sky Sports App? The obvious upside is a lot more exposure, accessibility and visibility for the sport. Also a positive that all matches have video referees. Whilst I can take or leave a video referee, if we are to have it, then it really should be at all games. And that in turn should mean we are able to sell and produce higher quality highlights. The obvious downside is Sky have purchased around 3x the content that they previously had for less money than when it was 2 matches per round. I'm sure they will argue some of that is made up in terms of video ref funding, better broadcast quality etc. Will be interesting to see how this impacts scheduling. Will Sky want all games in a standalone slot, like we have in the NRL? From the point of view of the league, that would be ideal! From a more selfish point of view, I do prefer having a regular day and time for home fixtures.

Looking forward to the game. A lot of talk about Wigan's attack but it's their defence that I think will see them home. They've conceded 12, 6, 6, 0, 8, 0, 12, 6 in their last matches. Whilst I expect a reasonably tight match, I'm not sure Catalans have enough points in them to win it, given that Wigan can score from noting. I'll go with 24-8 to Wigan.

Very bad day for the sport. At times, it looked like the roots of a solid club were forming. The third League 1 withdrawal in the last 2 years. The league is hanging on by its fingertips now.

I do admire the brass neck of a terrible player at a club that has had a terrible season to come out and criticise other people that allegedly haven't been doing their job to an acceptable standard. It's an almost impressive lack of self-awareness.

I must confess, it had slipped my mind quite how poor London were last year. Now you mention it, there was a real prospect of them dropping to League 1 for a period. Yes, fair point, that does change the dynamic. I suppose we will learn more when we do see the indicative gradings. Maybe it's the sceptic in me that sees the prospect of IMG deciding to relegate a London side that gets promoted after one season as being very low (possibly even expanding the league, should Wakefield score higher).

For finishing 12th this year Wakefield will get 2.7 points and London will get 2.3. But, if London get promoted, they would get a bonus, increasing the points for on field performance to 2.6 for the year. London will also secure 1.5 points due to 'catchment', as would Toulouse. That is quite a substantial weighting (it's 1/10th of the way to a Grade A rating) London will score well on stadium and facilities too. There are points for TV viewing figures too. If there is no Championship TV coverage next year, Wakefield will take a big hit. Wakefield have also made just 4 TV appearances this season. I think London, despite being in a lower league, have made 3. I'm not sure it's that clear cut.

The criteria are heavily skewed in favour of clubs that are presently in Super League, so whichever club does get promoted has a real shot of staying in the top flight for a very long time. With this being the last year of automatic promotion, the stakes are even higher than normal. The prize is just the same but the risk of going straight back down is almost zero (barring financial meltdown).

I must say I've never understood the argument that the Magic Weekend is the problem. Of our three major events, it is the only one not to see a decline in crowds over the last 5 years.

Here is the wording of the relevant law. Put simply Offside and within 10 metres and no defender waiting to catch / collect the ball = no penalty Offside and within 10 metres where a defender is waiting to catch / collect the ball = penalty

A tight match with limited chances for both sides and a low scoring, pretty ugly contest at time, which was to be expected really. Over the years, we have managed to keep our composure in difficult moments and Catalans have always struggled with that. The roles reversed tonight and that was ultimately the difference. We gave away three kickable penalties (two of which were taken) through avoidable acts of foul play and another penalty arising from an error. That indiscipline gave Catalans a chance to get back into the game, and their tactics to kick even when behind were very smart. Then, at the end, we made more errors than Catalans leading to the winner. Very little between the two sides but there has to be a winner and loser, Catalans just that bit cleaner than us tonight. Few complaints about the team though, they gave everything they had and great runs come to an end!

I believe Roby is aiming to go into a sports admin role and got a degree in the field in the last few years. I'm sure I've seen he's said he's open to opportunities outside of the game so tonight may very well have been it.

Must say, it did raise a smile seeing a post saying Saints players don't play the sport fairly, disproportionatly benefit from the rub of the green on the field and suggesting favouritism from the disciplinary panel, topped off with the comment that it's Saints fans who are bitter!

Catalans away in a play off semi final is as tough as it gets. They've been brilliant all year and it's tough to back against them. But we've won something like 15 of the last 17 league matches, which is incredible form. We have rarely been convincing but are very hard to beat. I think we might struggle to break down Catalans organised defence, so will tip Catalans by 4.

I've never been to a club final when my team hasn't been involved. I think I'll make an exception this year and if Saints don't get there, I'll sit in the Catalans end!

I like that our current system avoids repeated matches and is quite straightforward to understand. What I don't like is that the side finishing 6th finds itself in the exact same position as the side finishing 1st, by winning one match in the first week of the play offs.

Our last two matches against Warrington have been very close and I can't see this being any different. Neither result would be a great shock but we are in good form so I think we'll edge a tight game.

I think they probably did, once upon a time. I can think of a couple of examples of player's relatives posting on Saints' fans forum (Redvee) over the years. Now, with Twitter being more prominent, I imagine players, coaches etc. stick on there!

I think what also needs to be made clear is that Wigan have not actively done anything. Let alone anything wrong. Their players have been suspended and have been told by the RFL which game that suspension applies to. They have not in any way bent the rules, acted against the spirit of the rule or exploited anything.

Castleford benefited from it earlier this season, three players in one weekend! (link) Josh Griffin served one match of his seven in a reserve match, earlier this year (link) And John Bateman was named in the England Knights squad to ensure he returned earlier for the England senior team in last year's World Cup (link)

Sorry, that is obvious yes! I was talking about the disciplinary process more widely.

It's evidently not some 'big club' conspiracy. Several teams have benefitted this loophole this season. It doesn't pass the sniff test though and the loophole will probably be closed next year. The weekly circus we have surrounding the disciplinary, speaking more generally, doesn't help the sport.

The only recent reference I have seen to this is from Mick Gledhill, followed by a swift denial from the club.

The latter wasn't a mistake in my view. The home ends were far more full than for an average game. I'd say 14,000 was about correct from a visual perspective. I'm not sure why it was so much higher. Maybe LMS and Roby's last league match at home? Or a chance, no matter how remote, of a trophy?

Looks like we're on for some good crowds this weekend. Sell outs at Leigh and Wakefield, Saints are on for 13,000+.