Chris22

I wouldn't be surprised if Saints v Hull KR is off too. HKR press conference cancelled this PM, Saints ticket office closed abruptly today due to 'unforeseen circumstances'.

Anyone know the attendance on Saturday? Haven't seen it published anywhere yet.

Also Jack Welsby was outstanding. To come off the bench and be unexpectedly asked to play at scrum half then assist the game-changing try is special. I don't necessarily think it's helpful to overhype a young player but this lad's potential is huge.

Thought the first half was a magnificent contest and the second half not so. I haven't watched it back (and was very nervous throughout) but I didn't think it was a classic, mainly due to the stop start nature, especially of the second half. Absolutely no criticism of the players for that at all though. They both gave it everything and the conditions were absolutely stifling. How on earth they played and to such a high standard in that heat I do not know. Castleford's first try was outstanding and I loved to see a side play open, expansive rugby in such a big game. Half time came at a very good time for us as if Castleford had extended their lead to two scores, we were in big trouble, even a drop goal may have changed the dynamics. I have looked at Roby's try and think the decision was wrong and that Grace jumped from touch. You win some, you lose some, as we did with Knowles' no try in 2019. I would be annoyed if I was a Cas fan but I'm not sure you can lose a game by 14 points (as we did in 2019) and argue that one call lost you the match. We were far better in the second half and more composed. We got back to doing what we do well, led by Paasi, who was magnificent and game changing. A fantastic occasion to have 40,000 at Wembley. All fans that I saw conducting themselves brilliantly and I heard a number of police officers comparing favourably our fans behaviour to the scenes at the Euro 2020 final last week. That's something we should be really proud of as a sport.

Interesting that Carter failed to mention that he, along with all other Super League chairmen, agreed the disciplinary procedure just a couple of years ago.

Makinson is very talented but to get sending off sufficient for an incident where he wasn't sent off is quite something.

I am genuinely delighted for Joe Batchelor though, who is now certain to play. I thought we may have dropped him for Joel Thompson, which would have been wrong, as Batchelor is in better form.

A few sources now reporting tournament to go ahead (Love RL, Press Association). Aus appear to have signed participation agreement.

Haven't seen either incident but guess Saints will appeal Mata'utai's ban. Worse that could happen is it gets doubled to 4 and it's a risk worth taking. Thought our team selection was right last week but frustrating to lose a player. Makinson cautioned for dissent too, which was needless and I would have been fuming with him if he had been banned for that.

If there was a genuine relegation battle this year, it would have to be scrapped. Leigh's 13 straight losses will probably mean it stays. Sadly, the season is turning very messy indeed and I struggle to see how it changes soon as most players won't be double jabbed until August or September. For now, it's a matter of hoping that the final next week isn't impacted.

Honestly can't think of one for Saints off the top of my head! Although it would be a surprise if Sonny Nickle or Vila Mata'utai didn't fall into this category.

Pretty content with that. Any win a week before Wembley when minds are elsewhere is good, even better that there are no apparent injuries. Some big calls to make next week. Firstly, whether Lees plays after just 1 game back. I'd be tempted to put him on the bench. Secondly, whether to play Joel Thompson. Personally, I would put Batchelor in ahead of him who is in better form but I doubt Woolf will. Last call is whether to go with Welsby and Dodd on the bench. I'd be cautious of two backs, even though they are likely to come on at 13 and 9, seems a bit of a risk.

I purchased Club Wembley tickets shortly after tickets went on general sale, so there were some available up to that point. Very poor that they were on sale for at least 1 week to new purchasers when existing ticketholders are being shunted.

We need a plan for London. Whether London Broncos attract 200 fans or 1,000 fans, I am not convinced (given its historic instability) that they should front and centre of it. A few suggestions of the top of my head: 1. Internationals We commit to 1 international fixture in London each year, for at least 1 decade. Ideally, at the same stadium and around the same weekend. Internationals draw the biggest crowds in London and locals are more likely to watch international sides play, rather than northern towns that they haven't heard of. 2. Cup Final At least 10,000 free tickets reserved for London schoolchildren, especially in the Brent, Wembley and Harrow areas, at the Challenge Cup Final, annually (or £5 tickets). I am not usually a fan of this but we have spare capacity that needs filling and we can encourage schools to sign up. Maybe even an offer where the RFL donates sports equipment / prizes to schools (with a chance for the school that sells the most tickets to have a training session with England internationals, or for some of the school's children school to walk on the pitch at half time). 3. Salary Cap Exemptions on the salary cap for any player who cam through a London amateur team. 4. Linked Clubs Encourage and incentivise northern clubs to link with non-heartland clubs. Just think of the numbers of Regan Grace's and Kai Pearce-Paul's we are missing out on! We need to think outside the box.

Interesting that Super League games are being called off left, right and centre, yet the Championship and League 1 are relatively unaffected by comparison.

As an aside, I enjoyed Liam Marshall's meltdown at the end towards Coote. Not seen a player get in another player's head that much since Jake Connor nearly had Chris Hill in tears the other year.

The game was settled in the first half. It looked impossible to play rugby in the second so a damp squib of a second half not a surprise. Probably the most pleasing factor was our discipline. It would have been easy to react to provocation but we did that through tough defence rather than actions that would risk a place at Wembley.

Good to see error free rugby from us. Looking more clinical than normal and our decisions to kick 2 regularly correct given our strong defence. Thought Pearce Paul yellow was harsh, penalty sufficient for me. But thought Isa very lucky to avoid a yellow.

For comparison, here is Castleford's list of stated injuries, which they stated meant they could not fulfil Wednesday's fixture. 10 players who Castleford declared were injured on Wednesday are fit to be named in a squad on Sunday. https://castlefordtigers.com/mobile/article.php?id=7483

I've pointed it out before but I've always found it strange that a certain type of contact is deemed dangerous when an defender does it but when an attacker does it, then it's fine. Obviously not suggesting there were as any intent in this incident, it would be a shock if it was. More to the point, let's hope Brierley makes a speedy recovery.

I don't agree with all of these predictions of a Saints massacre. We largely do not run riot and don't score many points. Wigan will be up for it and offer some defensive resistance. Wigan's attack has looked as clunky as ours though. I wouldn't expect an exhibition of attacking rugby. It'll finish something like Saints 18-8 Wigan, I reckon.

Great signing for Hull KR if it comes off. People give me funny looks when I say this, but I think Coote is one of our best signings in the last 20 years in terms of the influence had (the only one who I would rank higher would be Alex Walmsley). His composure at the back, kicking game and organisation skills took us from nearly men to back to back champions, in my view. He also is a decent goalkicker considering he has never consistently kicked before he joined Saints. He has slowed down a lot this year and time looks to be catching up with him, still a top signing for Hull KR. I imagine we probably offered a one year deal and Hull KR offered two. So can't blame him for taking that, if true.

Oh definitely. It was a rare moment of me not being partisan!

I'd rather have lost the match than 'won' in this manner. Not brilliant for our final preparation having played only two matches in June. Not great that we have two weeks off going into the Wigan derby and it's Wigan's third game in seven days. Points percentage have 'saved' us to an extent but the decision to schedule loop fixtures and a Magic Weekend looks worse by the day. In some ways, I'm glad we don't have a relegation battle because a team may have got relegated due to postponements, which would have been a disaster.

This is Leeds' version of events. Nothing's every easy to figure out in rugby league!