If our forwards dont dominate that pack then they dont deserve to win.

Graham with a back injury
LMS is a soft shíte
Clough is coming back from an long term injury (is he even a prop?? thought he was SR)

If Graham really does have an injury then Tony P is the only one that scares me from the props.

LMS has been playing very well for a few weeks now. I think he has a tendency to be a bit lazy rather than soft. Jammer is a doubt but from our POV I hope he is fit. Clough returned from his shoulder injury a few weeks ago but turned his ankle and so went back into the Saints ward. However, he played a full 80 minutes in the u20s last week so I would imagine he can do his usual spells on the pitch tomorrow. He's a tackling machine. With the absence of Perry, Puletua has been playing prop and he looked well on form last week.

Our team looks very different with Leon Pryce in it. We have badly needed his experience and command in the centre of the field. He's still not match fit but apparently he made it through the full 80 last week without problems. However, I will only believe that when I see him on the pitch tomorrow!

Wigan will test Pryces fitness very early in the game.

As expected.

Soliola puts in some big shots and Wilkin is a dangerous player with ball in hand, but I have to back our forwards to do the job. In the recent big games against Saints, Huddersfield and Warrington our forwards have completely dominated.
We just seem so driven and motivated. It's like the lads have a different level for the big games and so far no team has had an answer for it. As Billy Boston
has said this week - if Wigan played like they did against Warrington they'll win

It is the Saints back line that doesn't look half as dangerous as it has been. Paul Wellens is too slow, Magennis is very inexperienced, Shenton has been dodgy in defence and Meli/Foster don't really strike fear into me. When you compare that to the mercurial Sam Tomkins at fullback, the strike power and speed of Josh Charnley, the Dream team duo of Carmont and Richards our back line looks far superior. Pryce and Lomax are very dangerous in the halves and Saints will be a different prospect to the last time we met with those two playing, but Pryce's match fitness (a bit like Gaz Hock) has to be questioned. I've seen Lomax play in three big games against Wigan, the Grand Final, Good friday and the demolition at the Stobart. Now while he has always been a threat, he's never controlled things against us. When you compare him to the experience of Deacon and Finch who can just dictate the flow of the game so easily - it's easy to see why we're top of the league and in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.

Then the Stains bench. Gaskell and Moore don't really strike fear into me either. I'd sooner have Eastmond on the bench for his defensive frailties, but sadly it looks like he will be injured. Clough and LMS don't compare to Andy Coley and Paul Prescott/Ben Cross IMO and that could be a telling difference.

But games aren't won on paper and anything can happen on derby day. I'm confident of the win though and believe this is Wigan's to lose. Setting myself up for a fall, but I'm being honest.

And Graham's.

He won't be played unless he is properly fit. Any doubt and he'll be out as his injury is the same as Pryce had, and it is career threatening.

I'm glad our backline doesn't feel threatening to Wigan fans. That's ok by us!

As will Saints test Sam's fitness. The Wigan team are in Warrington tonight and Sam is still suffering pain from his shoulder injury and is on tablets for it.

A Saints fan has pm'd me asking to delete my post of the team, i've tried but dont know how too but now im thinking... why should i ?

i know were the wigan team are and its not warrington

The worry I'd have as a Saints fan would be the bench.

Graham must be a touch under 100%, so you'd want more than 2 forwards on the bench surely?

Sam has always took some form of medication or something for his shoulder according to form, so that is just a normal weekend for little Sam.

I wouldn't underestimate Scott Moore. Despite him not being the biggest, he provides some sensational impact of the bench with his aggressive nature.

I would have banked with a wigan win and still think you'll get through but saints having pryce back could make things interesting.
the saints pack on paper is top quality. at the start of the season I said to my wire friends that the best pack
is the saints pack if fully fit. having said that though, the way o'loughlan and co performed v us 2 weeks was outstanding.
Our forwards were kept fairly quiet including westwood who seemed to be unrecognizable.

I'm really looking for to this one. If saints can overide the speed and movement you had v us in the first 20 then it's anyones game.
I honestly think that stains could have you in the forwards with Puletu, lms driving and a speedy roby. but you've got o'loughlan
and hoffmann and an improving lima with finch showing how good he is. It'll be a fantasic game and i'm getting the goose bumps
already. May the best side win.

I may get Wire fans jumping all over me for this, BUT, imho a fully fit Saints side is better than a fully fit Warrington side. That's the reason why I've said for some time that I fear Saints more than Warrington (and said it would be Wigan/Saints in both finals if the draw didn't see us together) and that's why I'm not as confident going into this as I was the QF. I am however still confident that our pack can do the same job on Graham and Roby that they did in Widnes and that will keep Pryce (who could tear us apart if we let him play) out the game. When we're on the front foot our back line will score tries against anyone.

This could of course bite me on the ass but as Cadoo said......I'm just being honest.

It's great times at the moment cos all three of us have the capability of winning. this may sound daft but i've always felt over the past two
years that we can beat you but have never had that feeling with saints. saints, even now, i fear more than any other side but having said that
the performance you put in v us in the semi was outstanding and put to rest my delusions of you having a weak pack. it's going to
be a great game I'm counting the hours down. It's so close to call. I think saints having pryce back will have massive bearing on things.
Chris Finch is showing what he's made of and I think him and deacon are developing a great understanding and direction for the side.
If you play like you did v us in the first 20 and sustain it, like you did at the stobard stadium for the sl saints away game then I think
you'll win. you controlled the play the ball and speed of ruck really well and spun it out really well outflanking us with overlaps that
that were created by great positioning and dummy runners. I haven't seen us be outflanked like that all season. I was really worried
when we were 22-0 after 20 minutes that it could be an embarrassing score but thank goodness we got back in.

Even though you won the gf last year, I think the side you have now is a better one. looking forward to a quality game on saturday
which no doubt it'll be.

Chris Finch?

Good post and its very refreshing to hear that from a Warrington fan. Tomorrow is going to be one cracker of a game! Only problem I have is Chris Finch? Isn't he the bloke from the Office?

Don't tell me we signed the wrong brother again???

Karl Pryce part 2 ...

your right, it isn't chris finch. it's brett finch. is that correct? too many hours sat at home watching the office.
can't wait. for me one of the biggest games in years because saints will have most players back and they
need to win some silverware combined with you guys who haven't been to wembley since 1999 even though
you won the cc at murryfield in 2004. Taking aside all rivalries, were lucky enough to be watching the best
sport in world with genuine heros playing it who'll give you the time of day and care for the supporters
who turn up and support them. good luck to both you and saints for an unbelievable sporting event. wish
we were there but watching quarter final with such a great atmosphere with some amazing rugby sweetens
the sour grapes.

good luck

Indeed

Hello cov warrior. I've just come up from walsgrave area today as my auntie and family have been living in cov for 30 years or so.
sorry, it's off topic.

Thats njust down the road from me! I live in Binley. Making the journey up nice and early tomorrow hoping its not going to be a wasted one

binley is round the corner as it appears on all the signs to near enough where my auntie lives. Went to coombe park this morning to walk bella the dog.
nice one cov warrior. cov has loads of good memories for me as our family have congregated there for christmas for the past 5 years.
have a safe journey on the way up. that m6 is a pain in the backside but as you say, it'll be worth it when arrive up north. good
luck for tomorrow as well. will be a great game- they always are between you and saints. all the best and safe journey up.