Leeds to win and do feck all in the play offs due to giving their all in this match, not d about wire as they are poo in the play offs, so bonus all round, and i get to see Lee Briers cry twice in a year

predictions?

Leeds 16 - 28 Warrington

Lance Todd - Brett Hodgson

Marching on together!

Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!

Warrington, just because of Kevin Sinfield's classless "this is for all our doubters" speech after winning the playoffs from 15th last year.

Why do Wigan players who throw a punch get sent off but when one of the Wolfs does the same thing it's just a penalty...

Leeds lack of ambition will win the game for Wire.

I think they are playing it sensibly to be honest. Low risk rugby worked most of the time for Wigan with Maguire in charge. It worked for Leeds in the semi final. It could work for them in the final as long as they can match Warrington in the forwards right until the end.

Frustrating isn't it? Pretty much identical incident with two vastly different outcomes. It's not like it's an offence that should be open to various interpretations either. A punch is a punch. McIlorum's red card was the wrong call, allowing the game to continue is the right call, although a sin bin would be fair enough too.

They have only run the ball once in their forty and scored. In this weather they were in two great positions to put extra points on and instead went for the safety of the two. Of course they could still win it, but Wire will score in the 2nd half, Leeds need to start scoring some tries as well.

Told you.

Still enough time for 'Sir Kev' to punt over a conversion or two though.

Better team won, but should have had a man sent off if there's any consistency.

Lee Briers getting a bit carried away saying the current Warrington team 'aren't far off' the Wigan challenge cup team.

Damn...if only they had won that pesky quarter final last year!

To be fair in the second half Leeds stopped playing sensibly and started giving away penalties. Then were hard done to with the try ruled out after Leuluai's hit but they just failed to respond to that setback. It seemed like they were focused on getting the next try and it being a crucial one and when it was ruled out their heads seemed to drop.
I also thought Jonathan Davies was spot on when he was talking about Leeds only having one option as a kicker. Sinfield was closed down far too easily.

Not a surprising outcome though. Warrington had the better players and the better team. When everyone is at the top of their game then Warrington have the best team in the league this year.

Lee Briers getting a bit carried away saying the current Warrington team 'aren't far off' the Wigan challenge cup team.







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3 in 4 years is a long way short of 8 in a row, but remember to put it in context, we have done it in an era of a strong Wigan team with Tomkins, Finch etc, which makes our achievement even more remarkable. I don't think the great Wigan team of the 1980s and 1990s had a rival as strong as that.

Hardly our fault that no body else, excepting Leeds, could be d to try. Most teams, like your own were happy to remain in the dark ages. And blow me, things have hardly changed. Funny how we got stick for doing what we did with money, but when Warrington do it, it's seen as "Building a legacy". I just hope you learn from what happened to us.

You won't get me complaining about what Wigan did in building that squad...I know other Wire fans and fans of other clubs come on here throwing the 'everyone else was part time' line, but IMO that was everyone else's problem. Wigan took RL forwards in that era and for me as an RL fan, that era was the time when rugby league was strongest, especially from around 1992-94, international RL was strong and there were a lot of great players around of the calibre you don't get any more.

Wigan monopolised RL during that era for three reasons,

1. They had the resources and ambition to spend big and bring in guys that they knew were going to be all time legends, fairly early in their careers, ie Hanley, Bell, Lydon Andy Gregory, Offiah. Also went to union and picked some great signings like Tuigimala and Botica away from the All Blacks.

2. They had a great pool of local talent that they nurtured and brought into the first team, Edwards, Clarke, Farrell, Radlinski and Robinson although he was from Hunslet was also picked up by Wigan's youth system. This contributed great players to GB so we all benefited. Those guys were world beaters up there with the big guns named above.

3. They had great leaders, especially Bell, Edwards and Hanley, that instilled a winning culture and a will to win. Those guys were probably the 3 physically and mentally toughest players I have ever seen. The Wigan dressing room with them in would have been better prepared and better able to do what it took to win than anyone.

When people complain about money and resources its just bitterness IMO because yes Wigan had that advantage and also going to Wembley every year helped retain that advantage but you can't ignore points 2 and 3, it was not just about spending money. Wigan were always fighting for trophies on multiple fronts and given all the smaller cups around those days Wigan were always in finals so at the end of the season they had backlogs of fixtures that meant playing 3 times a week, and the Wigan players had to do that every season and still thrived, this would not have happened without the toughness and preparation from point 3 above.

On here Wigan fans give Warrington stick these days for trying to spend money to bring players in...we are nowhere near the level Wigan were at, but you can see what we are trying to do, we're trying to bring our own players through our academy and getting the culture right by loading up with top names from outside. It is getting us some success and its hard work, but we always have other teams wanting to put us down for it. What Wigan did in that era will not be repeated any time soon, all we can do is try to do the best we can and get ahead of our rivals, so why put us down for it...

Exactly why I've been avoiding RLFANS for the last 24 hours.

Just enjoy the win but accept you're no where near the level of Wigan's success.

Right, I'm logging out for another 24 hours before I see an attempt of Chris Riley being compared to Martin Offiah.

So if you're an eighteen year old Wire fan born in 1994, you have to eat humble pie in the presence of the main Pies because of stuff that happened either before you were born or when you were a kid? We acknowledge Wigan's history but too many Pies can't accept that Warrington themselves are now a very fine team and their fans are entitled to shout about it.

To be fair its not exactly unreasonable for a Wigan fan to say that you are not as good as that Wigan team when you havent even won a league?

Really? You would have thought the league table would be the judge of that.

Remarkable my Jim Royle.

Competition was much stronger and deeper than now.

How's about
Leeds with Hanley Lowes and Schofield
Widnes with Davies Offiah Tamati and Sorenson
Wire with Drummond Woods Gregory and Boyd
Saints with Loughlin Ropati and Ward
Cas with Crooks Blackmore and Nikau

Throw in the second tier Halifax Oldham Fev etc much stronger than now.

Tbh the league's a lot more even now than it was back then the cap has ensured this and its now so no one team can have a starting 13 where every1 of them are world class and would walk onto any team.

iirc we were not that bad then for a semi pro team and for arguments sake had wigan not been in the league we would have won a few league's

not really, they've beaten us twice and haven't looked troubled either time, battered Leeds and Saints recently too, they're peaking nicely at the right time, quite comfortably the best team in the league imo