Not really. That's why I have put the Maximum points at the side, doesn't matter then when you start it - but you know what teams obtain if they remain unbeaten.

Both Wigan and Wire SHOULD pick up two points tomorrow.

From that it looks like Hull FC have the hardest run in there. Definitely Leeds to get 4th.

It's all in our hands now.

I'm seriously confident in our teams ability 2 finish on top of the pile.

Apart from Wigan Leeds will win all their games.

I'd definitely say looking at the above we have the most difficult run, having said that I do still think we'll finish top.

It looks like Wigan v Wire really is the big one, if Eastmond and Pryce have got serious injuries (not wishing it on them by the way) then I can't see Wire slipping up in their remaining matches

Really makes no difference.


It's how we finish that is important.


Imo there is no doubt that MM has moulded a team that can compete/dominate over the weekly rounds. Fantastic stuff and congratulations to him.


The question is, can he motivate a team to give that extra 20% that is needed in the playoffs? If he can, then fantastic. If he can't then.........

Still upset about Nobles exit?

Ateotd if we come top and don't win the GF we've still moved forward. Seeing that Madge is one year into a three year deal finishing top with a squad Nobby could only take 2 sixth place shows REAL progression.

The real acid test is if we haven't won anything after his three years are up.

But even then IL 100% made the right call replacing Noble and Madge has already proven this.

I'm not upset about anything.

I'm just stating facts.


Nobby took us to 2 semi finals.

MM has built us into a team that threatens to take us to a GF. I only hope he does, and more.

The "regular rounds" really do mean very little, given the rules of the competition.

6th place means jack .

1st place means jack .

It's about how we handle the playoffs.

1st place means a lot because it shows a marked improvement from the previous season. It shows real signs of a level of consistency which was never there last season and it shows signs of the improvements IL decided he wanted to see at Wigan.

Regardless of if we win the GF I'll be happy with the way the season has gone.

We never expected to be top way back in Feb

You see this is where you and I differ.

The competiton means that 1st place means zip.

All coaches know this before they play game 1.

It matters not one jot where we finish in the regular rounds, if we cannot carry form into the playoffs.

Now of course it's easier to win the GF from 1st than it is from 8th (imo I would have a top 5 playoff and make it even more difficult to win from 5th, but that's a different argument). The point here is that the regular rounds mean zip and the playoffs are everything.

Not to my enjoyment of the sport I choose to pay to watch for weekly entertainment.............

Personally I'm just happy to see Wigan, the team I support, winning.

We are sitting at the top, and as such I have enjoyed us winning a lot more matches.

Thats a step up for me. Trophies at the moment are just a bonus. I'm happy just be proud of how far we have come and how much more enjoyable it has been this year.

As long as it isn't Leeds vs Saints in the GF again.

They don't have as much sway but they still have meaning.

Games like Wire and Saints away will still be remembered in years to come. Going to those places and winning big pressure games like that still serve a purpose.

It's very cynical to suggest 28 rounds of RL were pretty much pointless n

in all the grand finals so far only wigan and bradford have made it to the grand final from out of the top two,with bradrord the only winners. and you still say finishing top means zip?

We didn't win anything with Noble.

Finishing top of the league is an achievement, regardless of how you do in the playoffs. Yes it's not as important as winning the playoffs, but would you rather finish top and win nothing, or finish 5th/6th/7th and still win nothing.

If you finish top it gives you the mental edge over the rest. You can guarantee that teams wont fancy playing the top team as much as a team finishing lower. It will also give the team belief that they can beat anybody. Weve beaten every team in the league this season bar Bradford who we have to come at home, that surely gives more beleif than scraping into 6th place!

Finishing top means zip.

We have won and lost the Grand Final from first and second spot. It really doesn't mean anything other than the piece of silverware, which should you win it, you will find few people actually respect.

Still, it is nice to get it, especially four seasons on the trot!

You need to look at in context. It means a lot to a set of fans who've had to watch years of some shocking poor performances and yo-yo 'consistency' coupled with at times some truly atrocious to watch Rugby League. Regardless of where we finish after the play-offs, i've enjoyed this season far far more than any for a long time. That'll do me, I pay my money to be entertained and Wigan have been good value for money this year.

Sure. That's understandable. But while some fans will respect it, others won't. And Sky will summarily dismiss it! It's an achievement IMO and one that has been undervalued for too long, much like the Challenge Cup.

I totally agree. Living in Hull its not always easy or cheap for me to get to games and with us playing so many home games on a Friday night its even more difficult. Regardless of this I try to get to as many games as possible throughout the season and hate the fact I can't make more. The seasons prior to this one have been totally demoralising at times and it became pretty much impossible to predict not only if we'd win the game but more importantly if the players would bother turning up and playing with passion. One thing that could be predicted is that if we went behind in a game we'd more than likely end up going further behind by making stupid mistakes and giving away silly penalties, you could also say beyond reasonable doubt that we wouldn't play much exciting rugby or score too many memorable tries. Winning a Grand Final would not have erased the memory of the rest of the season for me and it certainly wouldn't have made me feel like my money had been any less wasted. This year has been a total transformation as far as I'm concerned. The style of rugby we've played has been far more exciting, the players are far more committed and we seem to have this never give up attitude which has gradually improved as the season has progressed. We have shown that we are capable of putting a run of wins together and that we can survive an injury crisis without feeling the need to mention it every five minutes like some other clubs. I think we are capable of matching the best any of the other top clubs can throw at us and with some better decision making we could be in an even stronger position than we are now. Against Saints for example I think we let the fact Lockers was out make us think we couldn't play down the left early on so we were missing out on opportunities to take advantage of an overlap and kicking to the right instead. I think it was very silly to play Leeds in the cup with only 3 props in the team and for us not to use all our substitutions, effectively meaning we played a top quality side with only 15 players (16 if you include Farrell's stint as a contribution to the game). We need to remember that this is Madge's first season and he still has things to learn but just think how good we can be when he's in his second year and made a few signings. Whatever happens in the playoffs I can honestly say I'll be proud of the lads and the corner they've turned.

Whilst it's true, that in the context of the entire competition, your final league position doesn't mean a great deal - From a purely Wigan point of view, finishing top would represent a marked improvement upon how we performed last year, which is very difficult to overlook.

try finishing 6th and get to the grand final. finishing first gives you a much easier passage to the gf than finishing 5th to 8th. with the new playoff structure there isn`t much difference between 1st and 2nd, but i`ll take the hubcap after the last 5 or so seasons we have endured!

+1


agree with it all esp. the highlighted text

I won't.

There is clearly "some" advantage of finishing top. Imo way too little - it should be very very very hard for a team finishing say 8th to get anywhere near the GF. When I say it means "zip" then what I mean is that the achievement itself means zip, not the position from which the team can mount an attack on the playoffs.

HOWEVER. The competition is all about the GF. Teams know this before they kick a ball in anger at the start of the season. Citing finishing top as "progress" if we go out before the semi finals is, imo deluded.


Last year we got to 2 SF.

Progress this year is a final.