Absolutely spot on. Wane must be absolutely livid. I'm staggered by the ban to be honest even before they increased it.

Conflicted on whether i would play him though if that was the case.

On one hand it would be a massive boost and last time he came back from injury he had a stormer of a first game back, on the other it would be a massive gamble in a final that i am not sure we need to take.

If this was the announcement though, that would mean he would definitely be playing.

Like Stu said, I'm not sure if him coming back constitutes as a game changer, but it's a nice to have.

I'd play him for two reasons;

1. The last time we played him after a layoff (CC Vs Wire) he put in his best ever performance in a Wigan shirt. Was it Wilkin who described it as the best performance by a Wigan prop in over a decade?

2. Even if he does 20 mins, that's comparable to what we'd expect from Hill, who will probably be play instead. Nothing against Hill, but he made a couple of mistakes Vs KR (I'm really not knocking him btw). You'd expect the output from Havard over 20 mins, to be greater than 20 from Hill.

If we we're replacing say Dupree, or Mago for Havard I'd be saying no. We aren't however, we're replacing a young guy who won't play big mins anyway..

Havard named in the 21 man squad.

[urlhttps://wiganwarriors.com/blog/[/url

Havard in the squad.

I'm a bit surprised because I thought he looked a bit ginger walking around post game on Saturday but if they think he's fit enough to play, that'll do for me. I thought Hill did ok on Saturday but he's very young and the games do look very quick for him. That's totally understandable as he's still getting used to the pace of first team rugby and even more so, play off rugby. If we can get half an hour out of Havard it could be huge for us. We saw how he came back from injury against Wire in the cup and that gives me massive confidence.

Could've been a fake limp, like when you're in a rush and park in a disabled bay outside Tesco.

We've done it previously for GFs but that was O'Loughlin tbf. Guessing he will have injections and see how long he can do.

Shame for Hill and Nsemba though, they've contributed a lot for us this year.

Or he’s a fan of walking like a rapper.

Agree about Hill and Nsemba. They’ve been fantastic and while I’m sure they’ll be disappointed if they miss out, I guess their seasons have gone better than they could’ve dreamed off. I’m confident in saying their time will come in terms of playing in finals.

Big call, if the staff believe he's fit enough to play then it's a no brainer him replacing Hill, easily our best prop

Get in! Buzzing to Havard back.

He’ll be fit, the plan will have been in place.

Zig who said there was a big announcement for Saturday private messaged me earlier in the week to say Havard was playing so fair play to him. It’s a risk but his best performance of this season was arguably against Warrington in the cup off the back of a stint on the sidelines.

I think it is a big bonus for us. Ethan has got a great engine. Obviously, you have to feel sorry for Harvie and Junior but it is a team game and it is one we have to win.

Fingers crossed Havard can do the same as he did in the Cup QF and have a blinder in his comeback. Definitely feels reassuring to have a frontrower other than an inexperienced youngster and the not so durable Patrick Mago on the bench.

Agree. We have got to trust Peet and his support team on this.

Apparently Harvie Hill has been training down Cumbria with the team for Kyle Amor’s testimonial.

Anyone buy their tickets online from the club on Sunday but haven’t received them yet?

I’m getting nervous

A fair few tickets just appeared for the South Stand on the RFL site, probably returned hospitality tickets, disappointing but anything between 50/55k is a decent turnout

Got ours yesterday mate. You need to give them a prod.

Wigan Today has had first dibs on team for Saturday. https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ii-4370437

Wigan Today has had first dibs on team for Saturday. https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ii-4370437

Quote ="Zig"Wigan Today has had first dibs on team for Saturday. https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ii-4370437'" You’d be surprised if that wasn’t the team. You do see the odd shock call in a final, like us starting Micky Mac over Piggy Riddell in 2010 but I think the only change from last week will be Havard for Hill. I’m surprisingly calm for the game so far. I think the pressure doesn’t feel as great because it isn’t Saints and as a fan of the game as a whole and not just Wigan, I can see positives if Catalans win. Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely desperate to win and will be gutted if we lose but I feel like I’ll enjoy this final a bit more than usual.

Quote ="Zig"Wigan Today has had first dibs on team for Saturday. https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby- ... ii-4370437'" You’d be surprised if that wasn’t the team. You do see the odd shock call in a final, like us starting Micky Mac over Piggy Riddell in 2010 but I think the only change from last week will be Havard for Hill. I’m surprisingly calm for the game so far. I think the pressure doesn’t feel as great because it isn’t Saints and as a fan of the game as a whole and not just Wigan, I can see positives if Catalans win. Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely desperate to win and will be gutted if we lose but I feel like I’ll enjoy this final a bit more than usual.

Nicely said, Nicky, I agree.


Looking forward to a cracking contest.

Unfortuately I can see nothing other than a comfortable Wigan win by 10+ probably. Even the weather is staying dry. As I said on a different thread I've had a decent wedge on Wigan to win so I may as well make money out of my misery and it will at least pay for my food and ale (thankfully the freebie exec seat means I won't be paying to watch them lift it)



Usually the best team wins it and to be fair I can't complain too much. Wigan peaked at the right time of the season, sorted out their pack and have ridiculous strike across the pitch. The amount of tries scored highlights how good their attack has been.

Of course if Catalan win I will be delighted and it will be worth the money lost. The only slight downside would be seeing Tomkins lift the trophy. In a lot of ways I want his final game ruined as what happened with Roby.

Just rang the office, they were helpful and have put me on the duplicate list and I can pick at old Trafford.

If they come today, I’ll ring up and get taken off the list and use them.

Just in case anyone is in the same situation.

I'm also going to try and enjoy this one rather than letting the nerves take over. Would be a huge win but the future looks good for Wigan either way.

If Wigan play to their potential they win IMO. In 30 years watching Wigan I can only think of one occasion where we've played well in a big game and lost (2020 Grand Final).

The upgrade from Singleton to Dupree has been enormous for us. Combined with huge improvements from KPP and Mago.

French to 6 was a great move too now it’s had a chance to settle.

Great pack on Saturday and we’ve got strike all through the back line.

Smithies vs Garcia will be a great battle in the middle.

We need to take the gas out of the Micky early. I’m amazed he played 80 minutes last week.