Few thoughts

- First what an occasion put on by the club. Sold out 5 weeks ago. Heather Small and Russell Watson pre game. Fireworks, fan areas, presentation of previous WCC wins. Fantastic

- What a ball by Bevan French for the first try. He will have raised his profile even further with what performance

- Yep we got the rub of the green. But in order to get it, you have to put yourself in a position to get it. We never gave in. They battered us physically for 80 minutes. Restricted us to our own half for near 80 minutes but they could not score. Our defense is unbelievable. Any other team in Super League and Penrith win by 50.

- Three chances to score. Three chances taken.

- Credit to Penrith after the game. No complaints from anyone. Showed some class.

In summary I love this team. I think this is my favourite Wigan side of the Super League era. We've got some real class out wide and we are brave to try some exciting plays (the Smith kick for the Bevan no try an example) but to compliment this we've got in abundance of what the game is all about. Hard Work and sheer determination. The spirit of the side under Peet (the Marshall story for this week an example) is first class. The lads deserved that win.

We won - it's history now , naysayers can say nay all they want.Lucky? Maybe on a call or two but there were others that went the other way at times as well.

What a defensive performance from everyone and we were so much more clinical when we did get a sniff.I did think we would run out of gas at the end with several players dropping but we hung in there (Field take a bow son - superb cover defense).All that possesion and the panthers could not open us up - amazing.

Everyone contributed so it seems a bit churlish to pick out players but I agree that Ellis was excellent depsite a couple of penalties in the first half (although one was a bit soft to say the least). No one had a bad game and the players off the bench contibuted as much (thought Hill showed up well when he came on to).

Matty Peet - what an amazing run he has been on - long may it continue, I don't think anyone is doubting him now.

Any news on injuries? I'm assuming Leeming is out for a few weeks, but just hoping that isn't the same knee that he's just recovered from that Cooper had strapped up

Leeming will definitely be out for a while, Cooper will have to wait and see. I think Byrne also may be misisng for a bit - looked like he took a head knock late on.Wouldn't be surprised if one or two others are missing next game as a few looked ot be a bit sore (hardly surprising).

Definitely will be battered and bruised but it's a squad competition so should be okay.

Thompson should be back, hopefully Byrne, Cooper and Leeming only knocks. A week's rest would probably do them good.

One criticism you can put on Peet is him picking injured players, Leeming was nowhere near ready for that match, you could see he was limping in the warm up, dead last in the final sprint, same as Havard at OT.
He looked like he'd done some real damage to his ankle last night.

Many congratulations to Wigan on a superb performance. Do we have any news on Mike Cooper yet? He didn’t look to be running at all well when he came back on.

I hate the rule of where the ref thinks its a try and then there isn no proof of a try and then the video ref agrees!

That seems a fair summary to me. I checked in the paper this morning and it said we had won, that's good enough

Whatever the result had been, I thought it was a fantastic game of rugby league.

Thank you.

Do you mean the rule that if the VR can't find conclusive proof to disprove the referee's thoughts, then he goes back to the original, on-field decision?

That one?

Wonderful win - really brilliant. So much bravery and courage on display. Up against it all game territory wise and kept hanging in there. Was clear from the start we wouldn't have many chances but thankfully we took them when they came.

Thought Liam Byrne was strong from the start, Kaide Ellis and Liam Marshall prominent throughout. Harvie Hill had a real dig. Bevan French drifts in and out of games sometimes but when he pops up its all quality. The tackle from Field towards the end was one of the best ever seen at the stadium. There was a crucial second or two when he put his foot right down on the accelerator (which he doesn't often do as he doesn't need to) - looked like an Olympic sprinter.

The Wardle try shouldn't have been given but I think we all knew we'd need that bit of luck somewhere to have a chance. Thought the French try was fine looking at the replays - it was only after the different rules were explained regarding both feet that it made sense. Thought they got away with a clear high tackle on Jai Field late on. The decision at the end was perfectly correct.

But here's the thing - think about the huge disparity in resource between the competitions - salary cap, depth of player pool, intensity of games etc. Think of how Australians clearly look down on the English sides, understandably to some extent. Given all this, why is it that they are so dependent on one refereeing decision to get a result? Why are English sides so competitive against Australian sides, be it last night or Saints last year or England against Australia in the 2017 WC final? Is it England or Australia that are underperforming more given the relative resources available? Penrith had plenty of chances to win the game and ultimately couldn't covert - in no small part due to Wigan's resilience. Credit to Cleary for acknowledging that post match.

Should also be noted that Wigan's pack was riddled with injury by the end with Havard, Walters and Thompson already out and Cooper, Leeming and Byrne all needing to be replaced during the game. To hang in there the way we did was outstanding. We'll likely be down to the bare bones over the next couple of months - I don't think it really matters though. We'll hopefully still be able to stay in contention for the top 2, if not and we end up in the top 4 or even top 6 I'm sure most would happily take that in exchange for a win last night.

I think Leeming and Cooper will be out for a good few weeks. Byrne, assuming he failed his HIA, will miss the Giants game, and Ellis will be a big doubt. On the plus side Thompson is back, Chan should get his first run out of the season, Hill will get more minutes and hopefully Forber will make the 17. Who said we had signed too many forwards? Somebody at the Club knew what they were doing.

I disagree, I am sure that Leeming would have told him he was good to go. Coaches are relying on players being honest.

Nsembe needs adding to that injury list and Ellis played the second half with an injury. Regarding SL, I think it will be a two horse race, us and Saints.

A fantastic game and a fantastic win. To stay calm and disciplined with the ball and to show such concentration in defence all while Penrith tried to strangle the life out of us was an effort you don’t associate with English sides too often. I think having to play against a Saints side trying to do the same this past few years has really helped in that regard and we’ve got better and better at coping with that.

I thought there were great efforts all over the place but no huge stand out, which shows what a great team effort it was. We looked pretty busted with issues for Leeming, Ellis, Cooper and Byrne but those are worries for another day.

Cheers for that, not seen any injury updates yet but I'd imagine there'll be a few missing next weeks game, Byrne Cooper an Leeming didn't look good

To make the win even better there's a very funny thread 'Wigan buying the WCC' on Redvee.

A couple of sensible posts by the usual sensible posters but the rest are going down a 'deep state conspiracy' rabbit hole

Penrith for my money were the better side in nearly every aspect of the game but for discipline with the ball. Caught in possession 6 times (I think?) on the last, bombed 3 easy tries and dominated us in attack and defence.

We took our chances when they came and remained exceptionally disciplined in attack and defence and an overall completion rate of 86% is superb.

I have to be honest and say I’m still not sure about the Wardle try but alas it matters not.

F I V E T I M E S

I was reaqding that yesterday

Didnt expect many posts wanting a Wigan win over the aussies but the usual suspects where wishing season ending injuries on players. All class that forum (and yes, I know its not all of them)

LLS, Grand final trophy and now the WCC all sat in the cabinet and a billionaire owner paying people off.

It’s the stuff of dreams

Its almost like we are back in the late 80's/early 90's

'Simply the best' and 'We are the Champions' ringing round the stadium last night certainly made it feel a bit like that.

That and the red shorts.

It was a great sight seeing the town centre buzzing before kick off. We went to the Feast at the Mills for a bit pre match and that was packed. A great night all round and one to live long in the memory.

Well done Wigan won me a few quid Penrith no 7 way overrated you out muscled and out coached them.