I'd imagine some peoples' feelings about the club aren't determined by what a few turf accountants think.

We have a good recent history of good back-to-the-wall performances (against Saints sometimes pre-Maguire, Leeds when they were still on their GF run 2010, and last year when we stuffed them with the kids; the last few visits to Huddersfield players down etc) and not so much in the big games where we're expecting a close one (especially SFs, very annoyingly).

I'm hopeful for tonight; expect it to be a good game with little signs of rustiness from either team, but do expect a Wire victory. I'd be backing us more if we were away tbh.

True, but bookies are right far more often than punters.

Hopefully Carvell will produce his usual 5 penalties and 5 knock ons a game tonight to give us a helping hand.

True,

you rarely see a poor bookie, but RL is one of those few sports the punter with good knowledge can have the edge on them. I remember reading an article a few years ago by a bloke who made his fortune gambling and his advice was if you want to make a living from gambling go and get an encyclopaedic knowledge of a minority sport - there wasn't anything about lower league Scottish football he didn't know and that is all he bet on.

I'm tempted to ask how much you have lost....

The bookies employ people like Jackie Edwards to help them set their handicaps. Bookies make money!

I'm actually looking forward to this game, no real pressure on Wigan and will give us a better view of how this young team will go this year, obviously it's not the be all and end all if we win/lose but it will certainly tell us at more than the Salford game did last week.

Prescott out due to injury, Greg Burke in.

im still optmistic/deluded.

This is a Leyther wishing you pie eaters all the best tonight. Your stats of GB and local lads in your team are to be highly commended and a breath of fresh air in today's game. Get your pie eating chests stuck right out and make a racket. I will be shouting for you. Come on the pies.

Well he gave us the half time lead

Cooper has helped us massively too.

Goulding is looking absolute class in attack and defence so far. Farrell's looking good, as is Smith; and O'Loughlin is being his usual beastly/skillful self. Great match so far.

Wigan look more enthusiastic, fresher, quicker and hungrier and younger than us.

Great game as a neutral. Proper SL...

Yep. Really enjoyed that one. Blood and thunder stuff.

Nowhere near as much as you.

Well what an anti-climax that was. A poor crowd, no atmosphere, neither team were bothered as there was nothing to play for. I'm glad I stayed at home. The RFL should resign.

Last Son of Wigan wrote:I reluctantly feel this game will show how much we've fallen backwards with losing:
Hock
Lima
Camont
Finch
Tommy.

All of which would walk into our team.

Worried.





Still more than happy with how things are looking and big wraps to the young pack that some thought were going to get bashed around.
This next 12 months will I hope see a lot of these blossom into the level of player that we are supposedly missing and want to bring replacements in for now.

Looking short term I suppose at certain points some of the youngsters may struggle to keep up that level which I think is understandable but the potential is certainly there.

Add luauaki/Prescott/Tuson/Hansen/Lloyd to that pack squad as players we can call on and utilise plus others such as Crosby/tomkins/spencer who have all played SL (I mention them differently as I'm not convinced about these 3 "long term"icon_wink.gif and I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead this season, confident they'll give 100% week in week out.

It does feel that we are on the brink of something special. Yes maybe 2013 will be silverware free as this young squad finds itself. But I have a good feeling 2014 and onwards will be strong years for the club (even resigning to the fact that Sam Tomkins will have left).

Looking into the next couple of years one of the players I can't wait to see in the first team is young Joe Burgess who is tipped to take over from Richards when he retires - this kid is special. A Thornley/Burgess centre-wing partnership....mouthwatering!

Still think Sam may see out till the end of 2014

On the burgess point, I couldn't possibly comment for fear of being biased

Re: Sam, I'm just grateful he's here this season to be honest, thought he was a gonner when his brother jumped ship last year. (It's a bit like when we knew Hanley was off in the not too distant future).

Re: Burgess.

Hysterical over-reactions just tend to lose you the argument. Anyway, if that poster really believes few current Pie players would get into the Wire team so what? Doesn't affect you or your view of these same players. Better to succinctly point out flaws in his thinking than to fly off the handle.

No handle flying. I am sure I would have received a rigourous response if I expressed such a view on the Wire equivalent web site. Think it, argue it, consider where you're writing it, and then expect a response depending on the level to which you've thought it through, how well you argued it and where you wrote it.
For instance, I may think that Wire looked to me like a team very near the end of the road, with too many miles on the clock, and no effective reinforcements on their way. They drew against a callow team, with young players everywhere you look, a brand new half back combination and injuries. One team is not going to get better, while the other will grow stronger week on week. If I were a Wire the doubts would be assailing me - with Leeds revived and Wigan already a match, the suspicion that the last couple of years were their chance and that chance has passed could take hold and eat away. That was pretty much all they had, they had 6 consecutive sets of 6 and couldn't put Wigan away. Where do Carvell, Morley, Briers, the Monaghans, Hodgson, Westwood et al find the fight to take it higher next time? They looked lost by the end to me.
But I would keep that to myself, and certainly not write it on a Wire board.

[url=http://marctaylor.eu/rugby_league/2013/wigan_v_warringtonA few pictures from the match here[/url

Yes, but here you are arguing cogently some debatable points ( the age of the Wire ream has been raised by several national newspaper corespondents) and not resorting to the casual invective you descended to in your original post. I do, of course, disagree overall with your assertions here, but I'll get further by arguing rather than insulting. A couple of examples: hardly Wire's 'chance' passed away with three C Cups, one LLS and a GF runners-up in four years? A fan of any club would have to be pretty greedy not accept this as some achievement. Secondly, plenty of good youngsters coming through at Wire, but TS picks on a mixture of form and opportunity: it's the same process that kept 34 year old George Carmont, for example, permanently in his spot at Wigan ahead of younger players until he retired and forced Wane's hand in this position.