I think we've got plenty of bottle it's just wire seem to be riding on the crest of a wave for the last 12 months, are brimming with confidence and have a great team ethic. However, they still haven't got the saints monkey off their back.

If Leeds win on Sunday then i'm purley putting it down to we didn't turn up. Hopefully both do turn up and its a cracker.

How do you make out that they're a "better" team than the one that finished top of the league with more wins and a massively better points difference?

Straight answer ..... [size=150YES[/size

All season I have fancied Wire up to this week I have thought they would win it. I have now had a change if heart and actually think now we will win it. Other teams shut down a couple of key players they struggle, when we have lost this year we have played poorly across the park or used the wrong tactics trying to deffend the team.

We have improved significantly in our mental strength under MM and Wane, I think this is the major improvement from Noble. If we stay fit, I expect us to win the thing.

I can see us 'choking' somewhere down the line

We need our big players to stand up and be counted for the next few weeks thats for sure

Would it be a choke or would it just be being beaten by a better side on the night?

There isn't much in it between Wigan, Wire and Saints.

I do agree that losing to Leeds would be a choke, as they are walking wounded at the moment.

If Leeds play like they did last week and we lose it will constitute a 'choke' in my books

If Leeds turn up playing like 3 times champions and we lose its not a 'choke'

I personally cannot see the second option happening at the moment though, they look badly out of sorts

Yes.

It depends if Bentham is the ref for any of them.
It depends if Coley drops the ball at an important time and field position.
It depends on the stupid penalty given away in a crucial position.
It depends on that lazy missed tackle that leads to a try just after a bout of substitutions.

Anyone nervous yet?

No. against Weeds, Why? only reason the are playing us is cos ref screwed up and gave them an unfair advantage had it stayed 13v13 Hull would have won that comfortably. imo

Quietly confident with nervous excitement, expecting a week of then choose weeds as our sf opponents and let dire and stains fight it out and batter each other in the other semi and give Piggy, Feka and Bails a cracking send off by winning at OT and giving us something to crow about over the close season.



no disaster if we dont win the gf this year considering the turn around, but at the mo. just think we are to strong even for dire who i dont think will get past saints in the play offs. time will tell

not half. stomach knots when i think about it.
just think its because the last time we played them in the play offs we've lost....eeek

Not worried one bit out sunday leeds only just beat 12 men plus there dire game at wembley they look now like we have in the gl eliminator the last couple of seasons

I will say something if one team get an injury or 2 that will play a massive roll

I'm confident about Sunday, it's week 3 I'm worried about, we've looked disjointed after the recent weeks off, the breaks don't seem to have done us any favours.

Lets think about the losses we have had.

First of all throw results of the previous campaign out of the window! Tabula Rasa I think is the phrase.

Bardford - We took alot from that loss and will not let a lead like that slip again.

Quins - Loss of concentration due to the opposition, won't happen in the play-offs.

Leeds - Freak reasult we deserved to win.

Saints - Came back strong but the team did not play with the same flow, we were too concervative.

Wire - Same as saints

Hudds - The pressure was off only needing to win one of our last 3. They needed that win more than us.

All this taken into concideration, I think we have experienced enough to go into the play-offs confident.

We have never been well beaten and I think we will beat anybody because we will be so fired up! I can only see us losing in the final due to the different environment.

=#804000and iirc players out of position (several) for that game but yea wont happen in the play-offs

=#FF0000fingers crossed it's not a ref'ing decision that's the main factor

Our attack at times was poor. We looked rusty and as though the week off did us no favours with the ball

I was thinking Wire were going to go into the play-offs as favourites, however... first off they have to go to Saints and win there, then, providing we beat Leeds on Sunday, will have to beat them again to get to OT...

That's a big leveller imho. This weekends games are massive!

If we lose to Leeds it will probably mean we will have had a man sent off or binned whereas the Rhinos will not have.
I am getting ever more worried about Leeds opponents, whoever they are, having men sent off for 10 or altogether when Leeds, who are usually the instigators, are allowed to have a full team on the field.
The performance of the referee worries me far more than how Wigan play.
If we can keep 13 on the field for the 80 then I'm convnced we'll win.

As for Wire and Saints, who knows, too close to call. I think we are a better team all round than either of those two sides but there's been hardly anything between the three when they've played each other all season.

I just think they are, personal opinion.

They should have won the game at the HJ and they took your pack apart at the DW. They've also just won back to back cups.

Wigan have done well to finish top, but I think a lot of that was to do with new tactics early in the year - you've looked vulnerable against the good sides lately.

Anyway, I suppose it will all come out in the play-offs, I could be miles wide of the mark. Wouldn't be the first time.

I don't think we will choke. I just think Warrington are a better side and if it comes to a GF Wigan v Wire, I think we will be outdone. Mind you, next year with the signings we have made, I'm optimistic for next year, and proud for what we have achieved already this year.

In the game v Wire at the DW, MM only played two props, mistake!
The Wire pack did take the Wigan forwards apart, Briers also gave an absolute master class, so we are told. Yet they only won by 7. It was also O'Loughlin's first game back after being out for weeks.

Note the following two games away at Hull and Leeds when sadly MM was back home, Wane fielded four props and Wigan were convincing winners in both matches.
Wire may have the bigger name players and the most expensive squad but I believe that Wigan are by far a better team.

I have no idea how you can say Wigan are "by far" the better team when Wire would have beaten you twice this year (and finished level on points) had Solomona not dropped the ball over your try line.

Neither team is better "by far" than the other, but Wire look stronger to me.

The backs are where i feel we have lost games this year. It is vital we have Carmont & Gleeson playing all through the play offs.

Bradford loss - lost Carmont on 20 mins, Joel to centres and effectively lost two players as Joel was poor in the centre
Quins loss - Bailey in the centre and others out, including Leuluai, who i feel has been exceptional for Wigan this year.
Leeds Loss - Roberts first game back, we didn't use all our subs and the Farrell sin binning was crucial at sapping energy.
Saints loss - Pryce only played once since this game and Richards not played at full back since
Wire loss - Roberts in at full back after Sam had had a good run, Deacon dropped to bench. Deacon not dropped since.
Giants loss - Gleeson missing

I just feel we need a settled back line and need Carmont, Gleeson & Leuluai firing and we can win the next three games.

i honestly think wire will beat saints this weekend. its looking like they have no starting halves which is crucial and to be fair i dont thing there is a better pack in SL than wires. their centres are both in top form, briers is flying high and with the added threat of monaghan i really dont think its as simple as stopping one or two players. i can see it being a wigan v wire final and wire doing the double ( wipes away a tear). for us to win this thing saints needs to do us a big favour and i just dont think they have it them with so many players in key positions missing.