So we look in a bad place.

Shenton touch and go
Eden not fit but expected to play
Moors not expected to play
McMeekan expected to play but not fit
Young Trueman broke his hand. (was a rumour at first but seen accepting his award tonight with a pot on his hand)
I would expect us to line up:
Peter Matuatia
Greg Eden/James Clare
Michael Shenton/Joe Wardle
Jake Webster
Greg Minikin
Ben Roberts
Luke Gale
Liam Watts
Paul McShane
Grant Millington
Mike McMeekan
Joe Wardle/Oliver Holmes
Nathan Massey

Jesse Sene Lefao
Mitch Clark
Adam Milner
Oliver Holmes/QLT

Even with men out it still looks a strong side, I’m certainly not writing you lot off.

Cas fans seem to be painting this horrendous injury picture yet Powell said Shenton will be fine and by the sounds of it you seem to just have doubts over Moors and Trueman. The Cas squad depth is brilliant and with guys like Roberts and Oliver Holmes ready to go its hardly worth mentioning. At this stage of the season of we’re talking about players not being fully fit yet playing, you could probably find ten on either side.

Enjoy the game.

^^ I agree, most players this time of year are playing with some kind of knock/not 100% fit. It's a real shame for Trueman, who has shown maturity well beyond his years this season, but Roberts can just step straight in at 6 so no problem there. Moors has been fantastic lately, but if he's out we have cover. Like you say, we have a decent squad depth this year. It's a squad that wins championships, not 17. I think we've done fantastic this year with what we've been through injury wise, no fullback etc.., and I genuinely believe its been a more impressive year for us than last year because of it. Friday may just be a bridge too far for us, however anything can happen in a knock out game. Whatever happens, it should be a cracker of a game though and I'm looking forward to it. Heres hoping both sides put in a performance and show the TV audiences what this sport can be. See you all Friday, and may the best team win!

According to our website, Truemans cast is protective and they are hoping he'll be OK to play. A lot of silly mind games/rumours flying around at the moment me thinks!

'19-year old Jake Trueman bagged two awards after his amazing 2018 season, which has seen him included in the England Knights Elite Performance Squad. Sporting a protective cast on his hand which the Tigers staff are hopefully won’t keep the half back out of the Semi-Final, Trueman picked up Young Player of the Year and 2nd Place Player of the Year.'

Bad place? A couple of players sidelined and a couple of players playing with knocks like most clubs at this time of the season.

Stop with the melodramatic bilge.

We've had injuries all season, even with a few knocks we're in a much better position than we have been. Also up to 4,000 tickets sold with 500 remaining. Should be a good atmosphere.

I spoke to Trueman last week, he didn't think his hand injury was that serious. He could have learned otherwise since of course

By last week when do you mean? The game was Friday night.

If Trueman doesn't go we still have Roberts though who on his day can be class.

Issue is its our best players who are carrying knocks. Not just the squad players. How is it being melodramatic.... Stating a fact of our injury situation.

"In a bad place" is hyperbolic nonsense, especially given no player has been confirmed as definitely out.

I mean Friday not long after he did it. He said it wasn't serious and seemed unconcerned. As I say, he could have learned otherwise after getting it checked out over the weekend

Apparently the percentage of season ticket holders who have bought tickets for the semi final is very low.

It really does baffle me. Why would you follow the team all year and then not want to go to the do or die game at the end? Fingers crossed there is a late surge but I think some so called fans need to have a look of themselves. They're no good to the team in their armchairs at home.

Credit to the Cas fans for the huge following they will bring.

It's bizarre but lots of season ticket holders seem to follow that pattern. You would think that after 20 years of having playoffs to decide the title that people would be starting to attend the playoff games (pre final) in greater numbers but many seem to disregard the most important matches in the whole competition year after year.

No doubt we will also get a plethora of "Saints are the real champions" threads on the various boards should they not win the GF.

It is hard to understand. You'd think pretty much ALL season ticket holders would want to support their team in the most important game of the season so far. Simply bizarre!

And the ticket system worked perfectly, I have had issues getting my regular seat previously. This time no problem the ticket was there in my account basket when I went to buy it. Ive taken the day off so that I don't have to worry about traffic. Its hard to fathom a home semi final and fans wont go?

Apathy towards the game maybe ? The super 8s have been really poor and void of excitement and competition.


Then literally crash bang wallop 2 semis in 2 days then the big one next Saturday.

Maybe people are saving their money for next week?Although I find it amazing how poor play off attendances are, we should be looking at 20k plus with the rumoured Cas following but it probably won’t be over 14k.

Nearly sold all our 4500 allocated tickets. I'd imagine there's a few chance their arm and just rock up

As you'll have gathered, if any Cas fans do turn up and can't get in the North Stand then there'll be plenty room elsewhere in the ground.

There appears to be a degree of apathy amongst Wigan fans to semi finals. Perhaps its the success of the 80s and 90s, which meant there'd always be a final to follow, that has created this culture.

Other clubs have lower attendances for the semis, but nowhere near as large a drop as Wigan. Considering Cas have shifted 4500 and we have around 9000 season ticket holders who get a £5 discount, anything below 12K would be embarrassing.

I'm not a ST holder and I don't live locally, but I'd be interested to know why any ST holder would not be there on Friday.

The club need to survey those who haven’t bought and find out the reasons why. They have the information to do it, it could be done and emailed out tomorrow. Hard to understand really.

First year no season ticket for me due to work commitments, although I’ve managed a few games recently by paying on the gate. I will be there on Friday via the cash turnstile.

The DW does seem increasingly sp this season I’ve noticed. What did our average attendance end up with?


One thing I will say is that the club never did contact me by phone to renew this year, having done the years previously. Sometimes a little friendly persuasiveness over the phone can be the difference between a season ticket purchased or not.

I'm as mystified as most here; I would have thought, surely this is *the* home game of the season, why would you not be there? I know I'm looking forward to it!


And what Orrell Lad said is a good idea.

It will probably be something as simple as saving money for the final (if we get there).

I know a few people that are planning on going to Old Trafford (should we beat Cas) and it will only be their second game of the season. First one being Saints away on Good Friday (day sesh).

These were season ticket holders 4-5 years ago.