Imo you lot will be up against it when cunningham goes off it showed on friday v hudd you at times didn't know what to do and he came back on and took the game by the scruff of the neck

I think we all know your wingers are going to be working overtime i like that foster but if he's up against pat with the high ball there will only be one winner, on the other side meli i've noticed he's been caught out of position a few times and if he does on sat you will get punished

If it rains it will be even if not i think we have an edge but it's wigan v saints anything can happen like at murryfield but atm i cant see past a wigan win but 1 things for sure it's going to be a cracker

Saints are better when Cunningham is on the field without doubt. However I dont think its as big a deal as certain Wiganer are trying to make out. We've done well upto now with Cunningham leaving the field twice a game. Once more I'm sure we can deal with.



Meli will more than likely play in the centre, where he has been impressive this season. All wingers including Goulding will get peppered at Old Trafford. To be honest our short kicking game doesnt concern me as were pretty strong at it anyway. Our experience at Old Trafford tells us that the long kicking game wins the Grand Final. If we kick well through Smith and play for territory, with our pack then its ours to lose IMO.



If it rains Saints are big favourites. Saints pack is strong, easily our strongest part of the field and our recent game plan suits wet weather. If its dry then Wigan and their gameplan are obviously better suited. I dont see either side having an edge to be honest. We've played twice this season and on both occasions it could have gone either way.

To be honest though, Old Trafford tends to be won by territorial play. You do the basics well and capitalise on mistakes. As I have said, with our pack, if we can kick well and force Wigan to play from your 20 all night, then I can see Saints grinding Wigan down in all honesty.

Our pack is stronger than on those occasions too. We had Fozzard and Paul Johnson on the bench when we won at the DW (missing Wilkin/Soliola/Emmitt who are available this weekend and with Flannery playing centre). Those three weren't in the squad when Wigan won at KR either - Wilkin and Soliola offer us an enormous amount in defence.

I think it would pay us to push the holding down to the limit early on - it may cost a couple of penalties, but it will then force the ref to look at them in the same way, which will then put big pressure on one of their key weapons.

If you do that you will get mullered giving easy field postion is not the way to go for both teams cause if one gets a roll on it's going to be hard to stop

Both very good points. I like the idea of forcing the ref into making a decision though. Put the pressure on him.

When is our squad picked for the grand final?

I got a txt today that we will have a big name player back.

scully looked in good shape to when I went for my tickets

I wish scully was still playing!

So do I!

I think soliola us going to have a big bearing on the outcome. If he can rattle some of the Wigan players early on with his hits then I think that will give us an advantage.

He was awesome against hudds, some massive hits.

Just plot Sia's co-ordinates for Sam Tomkins and watch the carnage unfold.

Discipline is key for me. They give away a lot of pens, especially Coley who cant seem to takcle below the neck. If we keep ours it could give us a big advantage territorialy. Getting under Joel Tompkins skin will help too given he seems to be easily put off his game.

It'll be interesting to see our team, I dont like Meli at centre, defending there is difficult and he gets caught in no mans land a lot. If hes on the wing they will kick to him everytime so i guess you have to decide which is the lesser of the two evils.

Dry pitch, Likely Wigan Win
Wet Pitch, Likely Saints Win

Our pack is no match for yours, but your backs are no match for ours

That about sums it up!

I don't think its that simplistic. For me, Wigan are the best example of a TEAM that I've seen this year. They're not winning big games because of players, but because of the way they are drilled. The way the dominate at the PTB and time everything just right, combined with that intense defensive effort, the smooth way in which they move the ball round the park - things just seem to click easier for them than other teams.

That said, I echo Dux's sentiments that Leeds didn't have a lot of options when trying to break them down. They didn't have McGuire's magic and unlike two weeks ago, Wigan manganed to shut down Eastwood, those two points meant Leeds had very little to offer in attack(apart from a mammoth effort from Kylie Leuluei!).

If Saints are going to win, its going to be a smash down the middle going forward and very focussed defence in the 3/4s.

Leon?

massive gamble if true - but would be a massive boost to everyone at the club.

He's only just had a neck replacement. He's not even in rehab yet!

Fassavalou (sp)

He's been fit for weeks but just hasn't been selected, so it would be a strange one for me.

It can't be Pryce so that leaves us with his mate's text being bull!

you can have your neck replaced?

im liking this sensible debate as opposed to other threads.

my thoughts are that we have to cut our penalties out we cant give you field position as earlier posts have said saints are dangerous from close. another big thing we need is a good kicking game which we havent had for the last few weeks.

i really think this game is that close it will come down to who converts preasure into points and who keeps their disipline.

im looking forward to good banter, a good game and then hopefully the right result however with my mrs being a saints fan earache could follow

good luck saints from HULLFC fan. FC fan for life saint for the day Saturday.

Your lack of kicking game is a massive bonus for the opposition - it allows them to get field position that little bit easier. You won through because HKR and Leeds on saturday couldn't match your defence once they got there. Hopefully we can fair better.