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Bring It On!

Debuts for Hoffman, Lima and Finch for us and Perry, Shenton and Scarsbrook for them
Going to be a cracker! Count me in

Dont we start a week early because of the WCC?

I would have thought so.

And don't Quins usually have a warm up game v the Aussie champs, so they also start a week early.

They do but in my opinion if St George are to have a warm up it would make more sense to let them play Crusaders, with Wales having reached the 4 nations.

Cr@p idea, devalues the Derby having it more than twice.

Can't remember which site it was on the other day - one of the local papers I think - but it suggested that we'd play a midweek game later in the year to make up whichever game gets shunted on account of the WCC. Really should be as well - makes a mockery of having Magic Weekend as a 'curtain raiser' if we've already played the weekend before.

I'm not for or against Magic Weekend but in the past the Saints magic derbies have been too close to Easter. With Easter being very late in April this year it isn't too bad.

Who knows this could prove to be an excellent way to launch the league season. It will be interesting to see how many fans travel, I suspect it may not be as bad as feared. Even if you don't go, all seven games on tv will be a treat. And I think they've got the fixtures pretty fair, even by having all "derbies". Perhaps the only side with an easy game on last years form are Leeds but I expect much better from Bradford next year, and anyway opening day rounds are quite often unpredictable.

I for one am looking forward to it. It will be freezing and therefore I will whine and whine but apart from that should be a cracking weekend.



By the time middle of Feb comes we will all be crying out for some live SL and these matches will give us exactly that.

Before the complaining starts - I agree that the RFL don't market things properly most of the time and don't ask the supporters enough but hey ho it's Wigan Saints and if after close season that isn't enough to get you going I don't know what is!!!!!

Very unfair on Saints, though. They have to play us while their nearest rivals for 2nd spot all get fairly easy games...

That report also had the WCC game at the Reebok

So I'm guessing we will have the WCC on the 5th Feb, followed by the game v Saints on the 12th? Tough two weeks and could prove to be quite expensive for a few Wigan fans, with most prefering to go to the WCC.

No the World Club Challenge is on February 27th.

WCC is supposed to be the 27th, I thought - though, as above, given the number of different stories that have come out in various places, it may be best to believe nothing until you've got a ticket in your hands!

I hope that doesnt work against us, as with the first two games of the season the players minds maybe on the WCC game. Why they cant have the WCC game at the end of the season is beyond me?

The fact we are playing Saints will focus the players minds on that and then the WCC after. Personally I think that arguement was a poor and easy excuse for Leeds last year because their poor form continued after the WCC as well.



Because of the test matches. Ideally I would like to see them fit it in then though.

Why does there have to be league fixtures scheduled for the weekend of the wcc? We manage to not have any league fixtures when the Challenge Cup Final is on.

The fixtures have actually worked out fairly well this time. Howerver, I still don't agree with it and won't be going.

True it probably was a poor excuse but I would rather lose the first few games of the season, if it meant we would win the WCC. We could still manage to fit the WCC game in the week after the GF but then there would be more emphasis on the team travelling to play the game and excuses surrounging that.

Also with the game being at the end of the season, it gives the players who played in that season the chance to play in the biggest game in club RL. Instead of players for example like Feka moving to Salford and missing the chance to play in this huge game despite playing a part in the season, or Lima/Hoffman and Finch who could play one game and win a medal.

Suppose though thats a different subject altogether, but definately something that should be looked at in the future.

Definately NOT going.

This weekend is doomed. RFL will probably try to hide a poor attendance and ticket sales by giving several thousand freebies to the local Cardiff schools, Rugby clubs etc. I really dont like the RFL heirachy, they're so out of touch with the majority of supporters.

It's not needed, not wanted and the RFL insist on it due to TV contracts.
Hopefully this one will be the last and our 14 team League can be a legitimate 26 round competition without the extra game.

Well it's a new tv contract for 2012 so maybe. Sky will insist the magic weekend stays though I think.

Ditto