Would it be a disaster if Wigan finished 2nd? Unlike last year there is no 3rd or 4th team to be scared of...
The only 2 teams capable of winning at Old Trafford are Wigan and the Wires. Should we be scared of Saints coming to town in the semi ?

You can never write off Saints

In all honesty I would rather play Hudds at home than Saints.

Hudds is not a derby game so there would be no extra emotions to deal with. Hudds would also not have an army of 5,000 fans in the North stand.

However, we might have to play against Saints at a later stage anyway because I doubt we will pick wire.

Never write off Saints - just look how close they came to us on good friday and at MM. They still have it in them.

Saying that, I dont think it makes a difference really if you finish 1st or 2nd in the playoffs so I want us to finish 1st so we retain the shield.

Finishing top would probably result in Wigan choosing Hudds, however IF the Wires finish top, surely they will have to pick a Wigan Saints derby.
The high emotions helped the boys last year in the semi at Leeds, because at that time a touch of complacency crept into the side... whereas this year Wigan have been consistently complacent in lessor matches BUT have performed well in all the big games, apart from the Wire defeat at home.
I think a Saints Semi would serve Wigan well, it would put them in the right frame of mind to be the Wires in the final, the game would be a sell out and its always good to set another record straight against the saints especially in a big semi.
The momentum from the Leeds match last year carried over into the final at old trafford, and that performance was very special.

you are Eddie Hemmings and i claim my £5

Agreed on both points.

No thanks, I want to finish 1st and be seen as the best team in the league

edit wrong thread

Will the boys win at the HJ? I can't see the wires losing a league game to anyone now, so they'll finish top, but they have a sorry history in the play offs. So maybe a home tie against the saints is something we should relish....lets be positive about this

What makes you think that - they weren't brilliant against Saints or Hudds? It's one thing thrashing lower ranking sides but they don't look so superior against some of the better teams. I'm not saying they won't or can't beat us, clearly they could beat us, they are a very good side, but the Wire hype machine is just ridiculous and you shouldn't get sucked in by it.

Speaking of ridiculous hype, I was amused almost beyond my physical capacity for laughter by Eddie during the Wire v Hudds game when he actually referred to Wire as "the Entertainers of Super League".... Clearly his love affair with St Helens is over. I expect they will be relieved.

Not sure how this post can be viewed as positive from a Wigan perspective. You appear to have written us off in the League before we've even got on the coaches, are we to assume you feel the same about the cup? Granted getting one win at the HJ will be tough let alone two but if anyone can, it's us.

As for playing Saints in a semi, rather not. We more than had the measure of Huddersfield who, lets not forget, threatened a comeback for a while against Wire in their own backyard (yes, I know the conditions were a leveller). Saints on the other hand are Saints and they are always going to find an extra 10% no matter how good or bad they are, when it comes to us.

I agree that we are far from invincible as shown already this year, but you seem to be making out we struggle against the top teams, when in fact we have hammered Leeds twice, team wigan struggled against, comfortably outplayed Saints in our first game (score didn't reflect dominance) and dismantled you at home..so i wouldn't say any other teams have a much better record against the fellow top sides....

What I was pointing out was that people have been getting overexcited by the cricket scores you've run up against some (mainly lesser quality) teams) and saying that this shows you are streets ahead of all other teams. Many Wigan fans have been amongst them.

The fact remains though that for all the champagne RL you may have been playing at times this season (and you also have the tendency (like Wigan) to switch off for periods during games and concede try after try (e.g the recent Saints and Hudds games)) Wigan have one more point than you at present (though clearly that could change). It's going to be an interesting end to the season.

if we finish top we can pick catalans at home.
we owe them big time

who says sts and udds are going to finish 3 and 4 ???

As much as I'd like to see the dragnons finish above the other contenders, look into the Saints recoveries coming back into the side. They will finish a strong 3rd.

As for the "entertainers title", Eddie is a Wires fans right? Back in the day he used to give that title to Wigan, well of course he had to. It doesn't really mean anything but its a 20 year old tradition that most people are comfortable with, even Clarkey respects that in his commentary. Rugby league is the best entertaining team sport bar none so lets keep to these traditions.
But lets be fair, is there a better site than Georgie in full flight or Sam stepping away from a dozen tackles? The Wires have many things but we have the top two athletes in the league

Yes Matt King in full flight with his afro blowing in the wind... and we are called the entertainers because we have easily scored the most tries.

If we are happy with the entertainers label (going to the wires) can we create a News of the World Award and give it to Leeds for being the dirtiest cheatin team in SL?

No! Because the coaches pick only comes round in week 3, not week 1. If we finish top we play 4th regardless. 2nd plays 3rd! I'll say it again. Catalans at Home, with no away crowd, and a flat atmosphere is the match I'd like to avoid. I'd rather play them away! Anyone else, its the play offs ffs, bring them on!

its uncanny how Wigan will end up playing its bogey team again! Saying that, if the boys think that this is a must win match they should breeze it

I genuinely think we are a better side than Hudds (I know the results don't suggest so, but one of those games we had 8/9 players out - yes another Saints fan whinging about injuries!).

If Saints can get Pryce/Perry/Clough/Wheeler back in the side come the play-offs, we'll be a dangerous team for anybody to face.

i would rather play hudds than st helens.

2nd could well be a blessing in disguise to whoever ends up there.

ooops sorry, i thought i was on the Wigan board....

They have the beating of us this year. I'd rather finish first then give the bleeding club call to Wire.

You can't pass the club call on.

If you finish first and win you're first round game you have to make the call.