Or if Cas muster one last big performance to beat Wire? Why choose Leeds and give wi*an a likely easier semi, when we could hope that wi*an and Leeds batter seven bells out of each other.

Catalan are no slouches.

It's far from certain who will get through the knockouts.

As stated by losers over the centuries.

Leeds gone - but it could have a been oh-so much better. Almost a Super Saturday. Bloody Widnes!!! If only they could have held on.

Anyone else gutted about tonight's score? I had Leeds down as our exit route, a brave home defeat to them in the play offs ending our season. But this makes it a very real possibility of a Grand Final against Warrington or Wigan. A painful night ahead for us?

Interesting question for you that was raised on the leeds board: would you swap positions with Leeds right now? Would a challenge cup in the bag justify such a poor end to the season?

hell no!
if we scrape to OT ill be expecting a loss so have a great night reguardless! a win would be a bonus!

Kevin Brown, gotta be one of the best St.Helens lads in the last god knows how long to have never played for his hometown team. Although I believe he's a Wigan fan, I'd have loved to have seen him in a Saints shirt.

But he hates saints with a passion so it was/is never going to happen

I'd take the win a Wembley every day of the week. The cup is in the bag and I'm not sure getting to old Trafford this year will help tbh as I could see Wigan smashing us up big time.

The kicking game we playing would be very dangerous against the pies with kick returns from Bowen, burgess and Charnley.

Strange things happen especially on big nights in high pressure circumstances like Old Trafford. I believe Saints will make OT now and regardless of it being Wigan or Warrington you face it will be a close fought game IMO. Your defending brilliantly at the moment and look really determined.

If we're lucky enough to make it through and we do play you I'll be incredibly nervous. There's a few seasons of derby dominance on the line and in the biggest one of them all we could get burned. There wouldn't be a great deal of pressure on you guys IMO and we could panic in that situation.

Interesting few weeks ahead anyway.

That simply isn't true. Brown was more than willing to move to us but Widnes were asking for too high a transfer fee.

He doesn't hate Saints at all.

Strange things do happen, like losing 5 bloody times!

Well Ive been right so far. The only thing I will change is that if you could well beat Hudds, but that will depend on what Injuries they have.

The question is if you know because of all the pivotal players missing you only have a 20% of winning the grand final, would you still want the team to qualfy to be there.

Every time

Last time I checked 20% was bigger than 0%, so of course I'd want the team to be there.

That would be my answer if the odds where only 1%. I suppose the next question is there a cut off point where supporters would go to the final or watch it on sky or not bother at all.

If people sit through five losses on the bounce then decide not to go to future finals for fear of losing, they're going to miss the reward when we win one. . . . which we will eventually (although I doubt it will be this year)

We have to get passed Hudds/Cas/Warrington/Catalan first and I don't think we will.

If we get there then you will destroy us, it will be painful but I'll still be there. It will be like the 2010 GF. Think that's the one where we drafted Matty Smith in and it didn't work.

Lets not forget every team has been patchy this year.

Wigan and Saints can't be sure where they stand as their opposition ran out of steam after 20 minutes and neither Huddersfield or Cas had their main halfback on the pitch to kick them out of trouble. Or to trouble the line.

Not sure why Sneyd was not playing???

I'm just happy that the saturday games where closer affairs, otherwise it would have been a terrible start to the playoffs.

Now the crowds should build as surely all teams in the next round will have a good chance of winning and the round after Saints know could be their last game of the season, unlike the first round were there is no route to the GF and no chance of being knocked out.

Considering how tight the top 6 was , the results of the first two playoffs were a surprise. I expected much closer affairs

Saints were saving themselves for the playoffs

With Leeds out & Saints earning clubcall we have a very good chance now of reaching Old Trafford. An outstanding achievement w/o Lomax, Walsh & Wilkin for so long.

I don't hold much hope of winning the comp w/o any real pivots but I recall going to recent Saints grand finals & cursing the fact that it always teemed it down.

Due to personel we are playing top quality wet weather football ATM, decent kicking game, great chase & tackling has been exceptional. Our strength is currently in the forwards & with Walmsley returning & Thompson back in squad you can never say never. We can but dream, & the pressure is definitely off.

Our chances of getting to Old Trafford are only marginally easier than they were after Friday evenings win against Cas.

This is merely because a 7th placed team defeated a 6th place team.
There is the argument that Leeds were weaker anyway due to the mental and physical fatigue of winning the challenge cup and were actually only the 7th best.

I would like to remind people of the other year when we defeated Wire comfortably in the first playoff game. Fans were cock a hoop, Wire then won their elimination match, came to Langtree park and smashed us out the ground.

All the teams left in the competition are capable of defeating Saints at Langtree park, if Saints are even slightly off their focus and the opposition is full primed.

As for the grand final. Wigan are clear favourites, but they were that for the challenge cup and looked what happened there this year.

IF we managed to get to the grand final and it was against Wigan we would be massive underdogs. I would not expect us to win. However I would regard getting to the final as a huge achievement and something to build upon for the following season.
IF we did defeat Wigan in the grand final it would be a huge result, however its not impossible. We defeated them on their own midden this year despite losing Walsh after just 20 minutes.

Being able to compete in playoff matches despite having no recognised half backs should be a huge psychological bonus going into next season. It means that even if opposition sides shut down our halves we can incorporate a plan B and still tough it out.