Few interesting stats I've posted on the VT.

The overall stats really do highly our massive under achievement in recent years.

=#FF0000Play Off Away Match Records since 1998

Catalans 2 wins from 3 - 66.6%
Wigan 5 Wins from 10 - 50%
Wakefield 1 win from 2 - 50%
Bradford 3 wins from 8 - 37.5%
Saints 3 wins from 8 - 37.5%
Cas 2 wins from 6 - 33.3%
Warrington 1 win from 4 - 25%
Hull 1 win from 5 - 20%
Leeds 1 win from 9 - 11.1%
Halifax 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Hull KR 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Salford 0 wins from 1 - 0%
London 0 wins from 2 - 0%
Huddersfield 0 wins from 2 - 0%

=#FF0000Play Off Home Match Records since 1998

Bradford 8 wins from 9 - 88.8%
Wigan 12 wins from 14 - 85.7%
St Helens 10 wins from 13 - 76.9%
Leeds 9 wins from 13 - 69.2%
Catalans 1 win from 2 - 50%
Hull 2 wins from 5 - 40%
Halifax 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Wakefield 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Huddersfield 0 wins from 1 - 0 %
Hull KR 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Warrington 0 from 1 - 0%

=#FF0000Overall Play Match Records since 1998 (inc. Grand Finals)

Wigan 18 wins from 28 - 64.2%
Bradford 14 wins from 23 - 60.8%
St Helens 17 wins from 28 - 60.7%
Catalans 3 wins from 5 - 60%
Leeds 14 wins from 28 - 50%
Cas 2 wins from 6 - 33.3%
Wakefield 1 win from 3 - 33.3%
Hull 3 wins from 11 - 27.2%
Warrington 1 win from 5 - 20%
Hull KR 0 wins from 1 - 0%
Salford 0 wins from 1 - 0%
London 0 wins from 2 - 0%
Halifax 0 wins from 2 - 0%
Huddersfield 0 wins from 3 - 0%

leeds away record is shocking. hope they finish fourth if they get in the top four.

If only we won those grand finals in 2000,2001 and 2003. Ill always say I do not know how we lost that final in 2000, we where hammering everyone all season under Frank. 2001, we ran into an awesome bradford team and withers ripped us apart. And 2003, It was just a game to far for us after that epic win at leeds. Think Pryce injuring Carney may of had something to do with it aswell.

What entertainment we've had in the playoffs though. Some of the away games we've had over the last few years have been incredible, winning at bradford 31-30, holding on at Hull. And anyone who was in france to witness us destroy catalans will realise what a day that was!

Our home record is very impressive.

Considering we've only had 1 playoff game at the DW/JJB in the last 5 seasons, it shows how hard we were to beat when we finished high in the league.

With that play-off record I see no reason why we can't make the GF with 2 home games.

because you always get beat in the final eliminator

And how many final eliminators has your club been involved in?

Away from home. We might get it at home this year with that all important week off ahead of that. Massive difference.

You have only ever won 1 play-off game



They are usually close but this year we put ourselves in a much better position and will hopefully play it at home.

i'd swap going out in the final elimanator for winning the CC at wembley...dont get out for not winning it do you

Ok play that card again as usual, you don't have anything else in your deck.

The point is Wigan are clearly much more succesful than most teams in the play-offs showing that we peak at the correct time.

Our success has been poor during the super league era compared to what we were used to and yet wire fans would dream of the success we have had since 1998 even though we are so called "not famous anymore".

You are a poor troll, BUT I do like your name.

I can understand why that's your view, and why last year's Cup Final started you watching Wire.

We on the other hand have won the Challenge Cup at Wembley loads of times. So though it's always great fun, it's not the biggest game in town for us.

In any case, the play-offs are far more demanding of a team. They really sort the wheat from the chaff.

Agreed, winning the challenge cup is a great achievement but IMO it is much harder to finish in the top two. If wire can do that this year it will prove they are the real deal along with us.

The GF is much harder to win. The play-offs is where the top teams prove themselves. Will anyone actually remember that Hudds and Hull KR did well last year? I think people are more likely to remember Catalans storming run to the final eliminator and Wigans game with saints. Hudds and Hull KR were more consistant during the season but could not cut it come play-off time.

Maybe that could be the vase for wire this year with such little play-off experience.

He made a massive mistake when I think it was Rads who was injured in terms of how he juggled the team about. Messed up the back line and it was exploited. I really think that was a final lost by the coach.



Wasn't one of those years when Lam got injured in the last minute of the semi-final? Like when Saints lost Long that went a big way to ending our ambitions (whether it was later in the final I can't remember but it was a huge blow).



The Bradford game was outstanding but you just knew the effort to win that would mean we would run out of steam eventually. Left ourselves too much to do in all the play-off series in the last three seasons.

Dave

That is why I am so confident of making the final this year. Add the fact that our team is far far fitter this year.

A Leeds fan said o their board that he thinks we have already peaked though.

There's thinking and there's hoping. There's no way anybody can know that for sure, even the Wigan coaching staff

Either way some of the Leeds fans seem more worried about saints which is fair enough, they were the grand finalists last year, but could this play to our advantage? I would not want to much pressure on us during the play-offs being the favourites to win.

I have always said you need to maintain the form all season so just as it's no good getting a slow start and having to win 30-31 epics it's equally not a good idea to go well all season and run out of steam. I don't think Leeds and Saints have run out of steam when finishing top. They have maintained their form right to the end then benefited from the home advantage and week off.

So the Leeds fan may have a point and if the teams performance tails off it will just show we aren't quite there yet and capable of the form to get a good league position and then take advantage of it.

Dave

If league postions end with
1. Wigan
2. Wire
3. Saints
4. Leeds

Then the 1st round of play offs would be

Wigan v Leeds
Wire v Saints

The alarming thing is, if Leeds won that game we would lose home advantage for the final eliminator. Another brilliant idea from the RFL.

Dont rule out hull yet to finish 4th, they seem to be doing their job quietly with nobody talking about them.

Unbelievable isnt it.

There's still 20 points up for grabs yet and we still have to play the four teams directly below us, including trips to Headingley and the KC, not our favourite stomping grounds lately. Not wanting to bring the mood down of course. I think we will finish top but it's far from cut and tried and plenty can happen before we know who's finished where in the table

Whilst these numbers make "interesting" reading, you have to be a bit more realistic. Your stats go back 12 years - the "Golden generation" at Leeds started to really come through in 2003 under Daryll Powell, were narrowly beaten in the Challenge Cup Final that year against Bradford, lost at home to you lot in the playoffs, but then won the GF in 2004, got to the final in 2005, had a nightmare year as a whole in 2006....then 2007,2008,2009 we all know what happened

Our away record in the playoffs since 2004 is probably sh*t - mainly because we have had to play Saints away because we finish so high up the table! But we still won when it mattered.

Remind me of the last time Leeds lost in the playoffs away from home in the last 5 years (so with the same generation of players) and failed to win the Grand Final. Those stats would be worth looking at.

As someone has alluded to on this forum or the Leeds one, this year, with the format of the playoffs, the GF is even harder to win than before - the team finishing top has less of an advantage as it did in previous seasons (although please note that Leeds had to go through this same silly process last year

)

I wasn't using the stats to big up Wigan or belittle Leeds, I was simply showing that over the years away wins have generally been hard to come by for all teams. Yes Leeds have had a golden generation but they have always done it from 1st or 2nd with that all important week off earned. It'll be interesting this year to see if they can win a fourth title going away and possibly without a week off. You may well get 2nd yet though. Leeds are also probably not going to have the luxury of having no pressure in Round 25, 26, 27 which they have had in the past three years being so clear inside the top 2 with Saints.

Oh I wasn't being defensive, despite what it may have sounded like!

FWIW, I don't think Leeds will win 4 in a row - not because of how they started the season, or what has happened since, but because I just think after the record breaking 3 in a row, I'm not convinced the desire is there for a 4th....obviously I hope I am wrong, and in recent weeks the side certainly seem to be looking at turning it around....

But as you allude to...the irony of all this is that Leeds' shocking start and subsequent averageness could see us enter the playoffs with absolutely no pressure on us at all. I would be very interested to see if anyone picks us with the club choice fixture jobby.