Walmsley, this is his chance to prove he is the real deal. I think he is but this game is set up for him.
Walmsley, this is his chance to prove he is the real deal. I think he is but this game is set up for him.
That's where the game is won these days, on the floor
If you can get 3 on the ball carrier refs give extra seconds for each of the three to peel away one by one ensuring your defensive line is organised and fresh
It's obviously bad as a spectacle but Wigan fans won't mind when it wins them another GF
If there's any truth in the rumour that McIlorum is out, then the odds on us winning have shortened considerably. Even if he does play, we should be going straight for his cheek and testing it out.
I hope/pray we don't get any injuries during the 80 minutes. I think this is nearly as important as poor refereeing decisions!
I'm looking forward to Makinson v Burgess will be a good test for both. Burgess good in attack and one of wigan's main threats but Tommy is superb defensively and he handled Carney well against Cas.
I'm definitely more confident now that Dawson,Laffranchi and Wheeler aren't in the 17. Most of our players have good and bad points and those three aren't really that bad but they offer nothing positive in attack either and that won't win a GF.
I'm still 60/40 Wigan will win but for us to be completely written off by some is utterly ridiculous, weather, mistakes, ref calls can all come into play, anything could happen....
I don't think much of him as an attacking force, but defensively he is easily their most important player. No surprise that Wires best periods on Friday were with MM off the pitch, Wigan's intensity visibly dropped with him on the bench.
If he does play Saints should find touch after their first set and let Masoe or Amor be reckless with the positioning of their heads going into the scrum.
No doubt it will be a Radlinski style cod job with him out all week but miraculously being able to get a jersey on by 6pm
I'm the same. If I was forced to bet everything I had I would put it on Wigan but there are far too many variables involved for us to be completely written off
Despite some of our gutless performances away from home this season I think we will be 100% up for this one and will give everything, it might not be enough but we will see
If we lose I would hope that every Saints fan stays to the end to applaud the team for their triumph over adversity to even get to OT. We should sing all the way through too even if the writing's on the wall. No-one gives us a chance so what do we have to lose?????
Remember Joynty's words!!!!!
We also have Beaumont who could make his Debut and is an unknown to Wigan (and us)?
He did not want to peak to soon this season?
I give you Murray field cc final. We only had to turn up to collect the trophy.
www.helpforheroes.org.uk
"The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That's how I see football, that's how I see life."
It's not about the long ball or the short ball, it's about the right ball."
True. Went to that and noticed an obvious reduction in Wigan support. Bet all the doubters were kicking themselves for not going. That was a long quiet drive home.
Write off Saints at your peril - what about Leeds v the kids earlier this season
We are unpredictable and inconsistent but on our day magnificant !!
COYS - lets see the Wigan walk in full flow and the East stand empty by half time
I for one love that everyone thinks its going to be a Wigan walk over. Although saying that to have a chance in this game we cant allow out pack to have the soft veteran style aggression that we have seen a couple of times this year. We need to go in and use disciplined bullying just like Wigan do.
Fast line speed (careful not to be offside) put the player on there backs which will give time to reset our defensive line and slow them down. Lance can be a stickler for holding down and giving stupid penalties away we need to stop this.
Kicking straight into a Wigan players hands isn't going to give us great position for when we receive the ball, a good kick into space with a hunting-like chase is what we need.
Small errors like not reaching touch on penalty's (like lance did against Catalans) or stupidly ripping the ball when there are 4 people in the tackle (Lance) need to stop.
On a final note, we have a big enough pack to get us up field, wind Masoe up and let him rip and we will have a great position, quick play of the ball with Roby, Lance and Turner creating chances we have a great chance!
I for one have a lot of faith in what this team can do. I will support and cheer the boys on whether they win or lose.
COYS
As the chairman has suggested today, I think there's been some pretty disrespectful stuff written about us this week. We aren't favourites but when you have injuries in key positions as we have had this season, that is generally the case. Wilkin and Lomax are both big losses in their own right for me but they would have been our second and third choice halves as well. To find ourselves at Old Trafford on Saturday considering the injury problems we have has is a decent achievement in itself in my opinion and personally, I believe it's fair to say that without those injuries (or with Luke Walsh alone in the side) we'd be feeling confident going into the game.
Saturday will be a step up from any game this season but it's clear that the players are excited for it. We have a fair few young guys playing in their first Grand-Final, but even the likes of Alex Walmsley and Kyle Amor will be playing in their first. This week is obviously a lot different and it's important that the likes of Wellens and Roby keep things grounded. We're going to need our pack to be immense this weekend. If they can win the ruck then on the back of that we have James Roby who has unreal for us lately IMO. Matt makes a good point above in my opinion regarding Willie Manu. One on one he is dangerous and if we can find those quick play the balls for Roby, we'll cause problems. Obviously Wigan will know that so I think the ruck will be huge.
Other than that, it's just the basics for me. Keep our discipline and keep the errors down to a minimum. Turner has been in good form lately but our chase game needs to be strong as well. We can't allow their back three to win those first few plays because although he may be questionable under the bomb, Bown has shown this year that he's dangerous in broken field. Defensively we've been pretty strong lately although Catalan did open us up a few times down our left.
Let's just enjoy it. Everyone appears to have written us off and their probably isn't the pressure surrounding us that we've had in previous years. Same goes to us fans as well. Enjoy the occasional, get behind the boys and who knows what will happen.
Steve Prescott MBE (1973-2013)
V
as long as we give a good account of ourselves i will be happy. i think we will.
the way we bent over in the 2010 final was pathetic. i hope to god we play better than we did that night
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Well said Fishy. To be fair mate Kez was the worst culprit that evening. Awful way for a great to end. Lets hope they leave nothing on the park. Sia LMS Jones/Swift/Flannagan these lads will be targeted in different ways, they just need to be ready for it! We can do this.
I think IF we play as we played at Huddersfield with 12 men or against Castleford with our nine missed tackles in a whole match then we will give ourselves every chance of winning.
yep mate.
get our big lads running strong and hard, kick well, defend well, limit our errors and see what happens.
its 13 v 13 at the end of the day. 3 or 4 tries should be plenty enough to win a final. we will get enough chances to score points over the 80 minutes. we will need to be patient but the field position and possession in wigans ten metres will come. i think if we can defend well we will grind out a few scores when close to wigans line. fingers crossed we will defend well and the scores that we get will be enough. COYS
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
I'm hoping for good weather too, want to enjoy the day - not get p1ssed on throughout