About what exactly?

Never a bad time to help a charity. I'm sure it could have been planned to feature a shirt modernised from a past era. Milwaukee for example?

I don't know about that but they certainly didn't rest players for the end of season league games when it mattered. Now that the LLS has gone they will probably rest the whole team next week at Catalans.

When winning the league actually meant something. Now it's about the CC and GF. You can finish far from 1st and still be crowned champions at the end of the season.

Don't you, as a Huddersfield fan think it took the shine off the game knowing you beat a Wigan side minus it's two best players? It's like celebrating beating a boxer with one arm tied behind his back.

Wigan clearly don't care about the league, it means nothing, if they did Sam and Lockers would have played and it would have been a different story.

OP was about the sport, not the game or either coach.

I can assure you its correct (and if it isn't then blame that Bilko guy) and it wasn't for an end of season league game that didn't matter. It was for the first round of the Premiership - a knock-out game which saw Wigan knocked-out of that competition because these players were rested. However there wouldn't have been any outrage because fans knew that the Challenge Cup was a more important trophy to win than the old Premiership Trophy was, just as now the Challenge Cup is more important than the league leaders shield. It didn't mean the Premiership Trophy was meaningless (Wire fans still go on about winning it in 1986) just as now the League Leaders Shield isn't meaningless. It just isn't top of the pecking order.

As for Wane resting the whole Wembley team for next week's game at Catalans then given the travelling involved, the stay away from home, disruption to routine and likely weather over there then I would have thought that would be the sensible option. However I think from his selections last night and then subsequent comments to the press he has backed himself into an un-comfortable corner and it will be interesting to see whether he has the single-mindedness of conviction to actual do the right thing and send the kids.

Didn't send Saints send a reserve team to Catalans the week before the CC Final a few years back?

The Premiership Trophy was the third priority trophy in those days. That season the league was most important and hence why Wigan didn't rest players for the important end of season league games. Sadly the current SL system places too much emphasis on the end of season play-off cup competition meaning that teams rest players for what should be important league games.

Not at all, in fact it makes it more sweeter seeing and hearing this as if its some kind of acceptable excuse for Wigan should they have lost the game, which they did, and trying to take some of the shine off it for us.
If you choose to not play your best players thats your choice.....the results sections will show 12-30 to us - we can only beat what is in front of us, we did what we had to do for OUR clubs sake, what other clubs do is their business.....ATEOTD Wigan CHOSE to leave players out - we didnt ask you to !!

There are no excuses. Wigan wanted to win the game but came up against a better side on the night. In a tough sport like RL it is not always possible to play your full side but that can never be used as an excuse for losing and Wigan certainly don't. When speaking to the Wigan members in the south stand bar after the game the coaching staff did not any ANY excuses and recognised that Wigan were second best on the night.

No they wouldn't, they are both injured.

The old Premiership trophy wasnt a big deal at all and was usually an inconvenience at the end of a long hard season. It was certainly way behind winning the League and Challenge Cup and beuase of the timing it wasnt even always taken as seriously as the Regal trophy etc.

Yes but with just minor niggling injuries they might have played with injections if the league had been more important.

Of course they are.

I agree, you went our there and won. I hope we somehow get Hudds at some point in the playoffs with a fit Sam and Lockers. We'll put 40-50 on you.

I know what you mean, I often look at the premier league title race in envy and wish we had that again, the importance of every game week by week.

Despite me alleged 'bias' (

) against wigan I find i agree with alot of the fans on many issues in the game.

on what evidence?

I will hold you to that one to the tune of next years home shirt for the winner. We beat you 22-10 with o louglin playing earlier in the season.

You are bemoaning missing your players who your coach decided to leave our having named one in the starting line up. (Those dodgy tattoos eh!)
We have been missing our "marquee" player since week 2- not that you'd notice given we are currently sitting at the top of the league!

Ok maybe a bit of bravado was speaking there. But I don't actually think Hudds are particularly good, minus Sam and Lockers neither are we, but with them, we're pretty much the best team in England.

Who?

I think he/she means Luke O'Donnell.

you must be on crack.

we aren't even close

I've been saying this for a few seasons now. Bet your life if finishing first means you are champions, Tomkins, Lockers etc would have played and maybe we'd have given it a better go. As the format stands, this is what we get. Wire are good at rotating players, we have rested lots this year and only time will tell if it was worth it.
SW seems to be playing the system better this year and hopefully we'll not fizzle out in the playoffs.

I'd love to go back to the days when every game matters!

Neither are you getting lads playing with each other week in week out- that's paid dividends for us this year- the understanding between brough ferres and Wardle and leroy and jerry has been a strength of our side in attack. And our defensive structure has been sound because everyone knows their role- especially against sides with structured attack. Leroy has played in every game this season and had a shorter preseason due to england duty- he gets better and better- hes made 450 tackles this season- Tomkins is a young lad who runs about a bit, and makes the odd tackle, why on earth would you need to rest him- and why for more than one game!
Either - Sam really is injured or wane knows without him you have no chance so is preventing him getting injured.

I would put Tomkins, Charnley and O'L as better than their opposites at Hudds. I would put Hudds better in every other position. You are clearly mad.