That was more like it. Reminded me of an NRL style game, never over until it’s over.

It’s good to see British teams developing that mentality.

Your right Vasty it now needs to be the ambition of all clubs

To be fair I have seen it creating through in recent years. True you still get more one sided games than you should but they are less frequent.

Even though we had a poor season there were three games, one pre Covid v Hull and two post Covid against Wigan and?? That we nearly came back and won.

That extra 6 points would have made it a good season, so it’s getting tighter.

I remember the year Halifax went down they never won a game?? and rarely looked likely too. Where as HKR this year and London last year had some creditable performance and didn’t just make up the numbers.

Let’s hope we carry on that way.

Also blows the myth that there isn’t enough talent in the British game, well there is if your willing to give it a go.

I don't know if anyone else noticed but after that final kick hit the post and came out, it then bounced back OVER the crossbar, now I assume that because it hit the floor first, it wouldn't have counted as a drop goal, but I have never seen that happen in over 40 years of watching the game

Halifax did win a game the year they went down. The reason why they ended up on zero points was due to a points deduction penalty.

Still, back to the subject, last night was a classic

I have no idea how but that game should be used to promote the game. It would be a shame to be only showed every now and again by sky.
RL must be. At the bottom of the pile when advertising itself

Hence the question marks, but they were absolute easy beats and were relegation certs from the start, as were Hudds, Salford and Leigh at various points, that no longer seems to happen.

It was due in the most part to SL containing some players who should have been nowhere near. Now clubs seem to recruit better. There are still a lot of average players in SL but they do seem to be more professional.

I don’t think the SL product has ever been the problem. Until we win at international level we will never prosper. What made RU was winning the 2000 WC, it created household names. That is what attracts advertisers, they want winners.

It no coincidence that RL peaked in the early 90’s when the likes of Offiah and Hanley offered a real threat to the Aussies. They were never up there with Gazza but most sports minded people had heard of them. Offiah was even a Nike poster boy, we are a million miles away right now from that.

If we could win the WC next year and bring some post Brexit joy it would be a massive boost to the games and it’s players profile.

However our ability to balls up at international level is legendary. Still that was once the case with cricket and they got over it. Let’s hope Wane is the man.

You were comparing Hardaker and Grix - not French......

For very different reasons it will be remembered like the 1968 CC final; the drama decided in the last second. literally, after a closely fought battle. Great final that will be talked about for years to come.

To a degree but although it was long before my time 1968 is sporting legend not just RL. Don’t think anything that tragic or theatrical will ever happen again, it was pure emotion.

So, for all who watched the final, do you honestly think the current wakey team can play at that level, do we have the attitude & mind set, do we coach that level of intensity ?

Don’t get the question.

Clearly not this season, 2018 maybe.

Saints are on a high, a not very different Saints we’re a poor side only a few years back.

The only difference Iis money, that’s pretty obvious I would have thought.

I can’t help but think you are fishing.

Finally in 2003 we were crap, nearly relegated, a year later we were unlucky not to make a final that we could have possibly won.

So your point is?

No I was comparing the error by French that cost Wigan the game and that of Grix which cost us the win against St Helens. Why would you think I would be referring to Hardaker, I thought it was obvious but don’t worry any future posts I will try to dumb it down for you.

I think it's a reasonable question, vasty.
On Friday you could see the total commitment of each player on both sides. They all looked as though they were playing for each other.
Whereas on many occasions when watching Trinity I get the impression that certain players are of the opinion, " Can't be bothered. Let so and so do it". We sometimes look like just 13 individuals and not a TEAM.

Did you see 'Rugby League's Legendary Watersplash Final' on the Beeb earlier in the year? Well worth a watch if not

I still curse and swear every time I watch it but I keep watching it when it’s on, strange

Don’t agree. It was a silly question imo. As I said we have been poor this season, the team balance and mentality was wrong. It wasn’t wrong in previous seasons.

We are not a top team at present so of course we wouldn’t be able to match their intensity, it’s a totally pointless question because it’s already been answered.

Unless you or TT have a crystal bal you have no idea whether next season will be the same.

Key players are ageing at Saints and the whole team dynamic might be about to change. It’s a ridiculous assumption that Saints will maintain their position. Just look how quickly Leeds faded when the team went over the hill. Just because a young player scored an opportunist try doesn’t mean that Saints future is secured.

Saints will alway be potentially a championship team but that potential will come and go, that’s how it works.

I’ll say it again, our transformation from 2003 to 2004 was stunning and one day a lesser team will make that leap. I suspect had someone like MC been running Trinity at the time we might just of been the one.

Finally (honestly) Saints struggled to beat a vey beatable Wigan outfit, one that we’ve seen off on many occasions in recent years. In my time there has only ever been one team that was in a league of there own and that was Wigan from roughly 1986 to 1994. Since then I think people have been obsessed that another team will do the same, they won’t imho. They were truly as close to unbeatable as its possible to get, Saints are not at that level, not even close. The game has moved on, Wigan were at the cusp of a new professional year, that’s come and gone.

That said I like Saints and how they play, they are definitely the team I’d most like us to emulate.

I must admit Saints have always been my favourite team on the wrong side of the Pennines, going right back to the sixties. I always admired their open style of play and tendency to move the ball from wing to wing in very organised attacks. They never seemed to get that "dirty" tag that their neighbours had (and still have). They adopted fast skilful rugby whoever coached them (Cunningham era excepted).

"That put Grix’s error into perspective and just shows it can happen even to the best players."
That was your post.
The previous post/poster mentioned Hardaker, which without any context, you were replying too......
You didn't mention French.
Let me dumb it down even further to your level..... If that's possible.....


French was in no real position to collect the ball due to the bounce.
Grix, on the other hand, as many other posters have already pointed out - could have put the ball in row Z with either hand or foot and did neither.
What I think needs to happen as far as your concerned, is to drop the love in you have with Grix and admit he f*cked it up.

I have no record of support for Grix, my post was actually pointing out that it could happen to anyone. I have witnessed similar errors this season by our players but due to our many one sided games they made little difference to the final result,
If I was you I would concentrate on posting for yourself rather than trying to impress others on the forum by trying to put me posts down without success.

Can I ever expect to watch a Wakey team performing at the levels just seen, I'm hopeful but at 64 will not be holding my breath. Of course that may be part of the problem, Wakey fans don't expect and will probably never be in a position to demand success, while ever our expectations remain grounded our performance s and league position will always be at best middle table.
Because of our recent history in and out of receivership we have all thanked our luck stars to have a club to support. And have come to accept medioracasy with a sprinkling of good results that's our culture.

All I can say is hang in there.

If there is any kind of equilibrium in life Trinity are due some luck. Certainly the last two years have been very testing.

I say the last two years because I struggle to see what more we could have done.

You can argue all day long about CC merits as a coach or MC as a chairman and which players didn’t perform. What you can’t deny Is that injuries have been a constant problem of sometimes epic proportions and that for whatever reason the players left have not performed to their abilities.

This is by far and away our best ever squad imo of the SL era, only 2004 and 2008 come close but neither had the depth.

If people don’t believe just how lucky we now are go look back through some of our SL squads. Jeez you’d be lucky to recognise some, you’d be even luckier to find many good players.

Some of those teams quite literally (this time) don’t have more than a couple of genuinely talented players. I mean hats off they somehow kept us up but compared to the current team, they don’t compare.

We now have a world class winger and another top class winger who when fit score more tries per season than the entire back line of some of those teams, that’s each not combined. Some past wingers have not managed more than a couple of tries in a season! I always think that the number of wingers tries tends to indicate the quality of the product.

For once the talent is there or nearly there. Whether we just need that one extra player, a new belief, better tactics or just plain luck, I don’t know but success is more in sight than it ever has been in my 30 seasons.

Keep the faith.

It is impossible to put into perspective what Grix did. I have no ill-feeling or vendetta against him but it was the most monumental error made by a Trinity player in the SL era in my opinion, no doubt in my mind. It was just so inexplicable, it was almost impossible to believe what he'd done, it was utter crap and he should feel some shame though he shouldn't beat himself up forever. It was as close to being as unforgivable as you can get without actually believing he'd done it on purpose, which I don't.

Grix certainly blotted his reputation but I prefer to remember him as a fantastic organiser, good link up play and good kicking near the line.