He used to….he’s really improved regards that this season particularly as the season goes on.

On current form he on my opinion is the best player in SL going into the finals series.

He missed 9 tackles on Friday.

Harry should be practicing his spiral bombs because Moylan doesn't want to know anything about catching a kick that's dropping from any kind of height

Jai Field and Kaide Ellis being shown in the stands at Old Trafford on Sky to advertise Saturday's game was definitely not something I was expecting.

They're always a bit misleading the missed tackle stats for me. If it was a guy sitting in the line, waiting for attackers to run at him, like a halfback would usually do, then that would be worrying but guys like Micky Mac and Morgan Knowles miss loads and it's because they're trying to get off their line and put shots on. I'd imagine most of the Ipape misses were because of that and had very little baring on Leigh then completing the tackle.

Plenty of other targets for Wigan though. Get traffic going at Lam and O'Brien and chase hard on Moylan and get him thinking about things. He doesn't look fully fit to me and is nervous taking kicks and running the ball in.

Weather could be a big factor over the next couple of weeks. We've been a bit fortunate in the semis and finals of the CC and SL over the last 12 months with dry weather perfect for Field, French, Wardle etc. Obviously the CC semi last year didn't go so well in torrential rain though I'm sure its something Peet will have learned from.

Forecast for Friday is dry, as is Thursday and Saturday, so reasonably confident that torrential rain wont be an issue.

This,
and we should be targetting their right side of Mcintosh and Hanley, which is definitely their weakest point, both in attack and defence

I know they may need to juggle the backs a bit so Hanley probably goes other wing, with Hardaker into centre, which probably improves their defensive setup but that then leaves both wings and FB weak in defence and under the high ball

The 'week off' thing is always something you can take either way, isn't it? If you have the week off, you can be regarded as either nicely rested or at risk of losing your rhythm, whereas if you play the week before, you can be seen as either battle-hardened or tired. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, really. As for the game, I give Leigh an outside chance, but I'd certainly expect Wigan to win, by 10-12 points.

Yeah, the week off debate is as easy to win as the 'is it better to go to Catalans on the day or to go a couple of days before' debate. Nobody knows the answer and without looking at a load of data, over a period of multiple seasons, you couldn't put up an argument to say you're definitely correct either way.

Realistically, different teams probably need different things at different times. I think from a Wigan POV a rest is likely to be a good thing for us currently because of the amount of games the players have had and because of the emotion of some of them (Cup Final, Penrith etc) but no way of proving that either way, even if we won by 50 or lost by 50 on Saturday.

We will be good to go.

Having a week off is 100% an advantage. No risk of bans, head knocks, injuries, fatigue. A chance to rest the body after a gruelling season.


If Leigh beat us everyone will bring up the lazy week off narrative but if they do beat us it’ll be because they played better than us on the night.



Leigh’s good players are amazing, Lam, Ipape, Amone, Asista, Mulhern, O’Donnell. I just think they have 1 or 2 passengers that we can get at and get our points.

Fancy us to progress but it’ll take all 80 minutes I feel.

My stalker Rob will no doubt come on tonight after a few beers and accuse me of wanting to suck up to strangers on a forum but I have put the same on Redvee. I genuinely want Wigan to beat Leigh on Friday and by a good score. Naturally I don't want them to win the comp but Leigh have very quickly become one of my most hated clubs

Beaumont and his behaviour is the biggest factor. The man is an absolute tool and has no class whatsoever. His tweet after we lost to Warrington on Saturday just summed him up, not sure why he felt the need to have a pop at Salford in the same tweet either

Despite what I want I think Wigan will win comfortably anyway. Despite being a better team, for some reason Leigh make it easier for them by rolling over and having their tummy tickled most times. Charnley missing is a big loss for them too.

I'm hoping for a Wigan v HKR final which is what it should be. 1 v2, the two best teams in the comp.

I think we've generally been fortunate in when we've played them. Last year we played them straight after Wembley and I seem to remember the first game they had a quick turnaround/couple of injuries. They didn't roll over for us going into the play offs, but this season too we've tended to play them at a good time.

I think it'll probably be the same on Saturday. They'll definitely feel like they owe us one, but it's a big ask to back up last week with a depleted squad.

I think a problem with how people think about the week off is that they judge it exclusively on the result of the next game. For me the biggest advantage we have there is less about whether we're more likely to beat Leigh, and more about whether we're more likely to win at Old Trafford. That's a difficult thing to prove obviously, but I'd feel a lot better about our chances in the GF after a week off and one possibly tough game, than I would about facing a third tough knockout game in a row, like Wire will be facing if they get past Hull KR.

Came on to say pretty much this. I don't really care who wins but I'd be amazed if Leigh did.

Or alternatively "are usually beaten by a much better team on the day".

Don't let me spoil your Saints centric narrative though.

Next few days should be dry but Saturday looks mixed at best.

For me its a huge factor as on a dry and fast track I dont think there's anything stopping Wigan with the pace and agility in the team. Difficult to remember a game in the last couple of years when we've lost in those conditions with a near full squad available. If it's wet it's a potential leveller as we've seen in the past.

Foxtrot Oscar you soft Stains melt.

A grown man using the term "Stains"

Dear oh dear

Looking at various forecasts at this moment in time all seem to show dry and settled (with sunshine periods) from now right through to kick off at 5.30pm. However there is a shower period due anytime around 7-10pm. So we may just get away with a dry fast track pitch for the majority if not all of the match (obviously forecasts can change).

Fingers crossed - always helps the spectacle.

Ticket sales look strong as well with over 15k sold thus far though I can never understand why the club doesn't prioritise filling the stand the TV cameras face (East). South, North and West will be pretty much full but the big gaps in the East are what show up on Sky.

In the past am I right in thinking the West Stand was slightly more expensive than the East Stand and then they brought them in line? Since then it seems like the West gets more people in and the East less than was previously the case and then like you say, it doesn't look great on TV.

Even if it's only a couple of quid difference I think they should try and get more people gravitating towards the East and I also do not like them putting the community clubs in the North most weeks, as again that take people and atmosphere away from the South and East stands.

Yes you're right - they changed the prices a couple of years ago making the East and West the same. I don't understand the logic behind it as I've always thought having full stands on the TV makes it feel more important which a) casts the sport in a good light and b) may do more to persuade others to buy a ticket next time round.

Interesting snippets from the Leigh press conference-

Lammy doesn't think Wigan should have home advantage for this one, saying semis should be played at neutral venues. May as well do away with the league season in that case and do a cup draw.

Had to laugh when they told him about the praise Matty Peet had given him and was asked about the job he thought he was doing at Wigan and his response was to basically say that Wigan spend the most money, have the best assistants and a new owner and 'they're doing well' and are set up for success for 5-10 years.

Slightly bitter to say the least.