Martin Offiah only ever had plan 'a' in all his rugby career, that was run like bloody hell,that was it nothing else to his game & he couldnt tackle or defend to save his life !
Martin Offiah only ever had plan 'a' in all his rugby career, that was run like bloody hell,that was it nothing else to his game & he couldnt tackle or defend to save his life !
Wigan was always going to lose that grand final. Wigan had one plan which always fell apart when the opposition got right up in Wigan's face. That's what Saints did from the kick off and straight away Wigan lost it in the guise of Flower. If it wasn't Flower it would have been someone else.
Anytime through the season a team with fast line speed got right up in Wigan's face and cut down the game plan Wigan fell apart. Wigan win when the opposition back off (usually because they are intimidated). If it wasn't Flower doing his stupid deed then it would have been something else - passes out to the wing flying past the winger and into touch, stupid penalties, knocking on at the PTB etc. etc. Wigan do all these things in spades when they are under pressure.
Wigan were doomed to lose that final because they are Wigan, they came with one game plan and it was knocked aside. Saints played it perfect, they got right into Wigan's face from the first second then watched Wigan implode through their own stupidity.
All the neutrals I have spoken to have been absolutely made up that Saints won because they see how Wigan play.
After reading his media moment in the spotlight I remembered the Martin Offiah I knew. He could run away from everyone but he was as soft as s***e. Flowers punch would have killed him off.
Got to love this
http://youtu.be/yj57GvEj2DI
What a ridiculous statement. How on Gods green earth do you know what would or wouldn't have happened during the course of that game if Flower had remained on the field? Perhaps Flower would have gone to make another mother of all howlers and gift us a try or two?
Saints won the Grand Final under the conditions they were given, with several key players out and Wigan down to 12.
What more do they have to do at all to gain the respect they deserve for pulling off that victory?
I knocked them on several occasions throughout the year and rightly so in my opinion for some of the performances they dished out, but not on that night.
Well said Rev. Let us also not forget that due to the Thugs actions we then had to make four positional changes to cover Lance going off. Indeed when was the last time that LMS plaid at centre for Saints? (And surprisingly well I might add)
This was a magnificent team effort in the face of adversity.
I said at the time that I couldn't understand why Saints were underdogs. We were LLS holders, we beat them on their own ground and when they beat us, it was our first loss. We had learned how to win in adversity notwithstanding the capitulation at Catalans. Barry McDermott was the only Sky pundit to take this into consideration when he picked us to win. The other Sky clowns said some ridiculous things e.g. It's more even now. They were proved to be hopelessly wrong. Twelve have beaten thirteen before (Goulding's dismissal against Wigan in the opening exchanges).
Saints soaked up the pressure, rearranged the tactics and won deservedly. I respect Martin Offiah but disagree with him. It's all about Martin being noticed.
For those of us old enough lets cast our minds back to the afternoon of Saturday 22nd May 1971. The venue was Station Road in Swinton.
Two rugby league sides faced each other for the Rugby League Championship. One from St Helens and the other from Wigan. One of the teams had a player sent from the field of play and with 5 minutes remaining trailed 6-12 (it was 3 points for a try and two points for a dropped goal in those days).
What happened next?
The team that were losing and playing with one less player, responded to win 16-12 with the final try being scored by a player who had been struggling for most of the game with a shoulder injury.
Never ever try to persuade me that Flower being sent off gifted us the Grand Final.
St Helens Openwater Swimming Society
Looking out from the top of Table Mountain
Spot on mate. Wigan lost because they were up against a team with a tough battle hardened mind set. That plus the fact that their illegal tactics blew up in their faces. Having been there on the night and since watched it again many times you can see the illegality of Wigan's tactics throughout (indeed there are more than a couple of occasions when even the SKY muppets called for offences the ref didn't penalise the Pies for). High shots, holding down, knees in the back, knees to the head. It is all too prominent and frequent to be accidental, or rogue players or indeed anything but tactics. Part of those tactic blew them up in the first couple of minutes and I for one am delighted. Perhaps a panel of refs should sit through the match to see Wigan's tactics first hand and attempt to eradicate such thuggish behaviour this season. Maybe Mr Offiah could sit in too?
Great post. They dance the line of legality by their tackling and it grates. One tackling and two more flopping and then taking an age to get off the man with the ball. The final was a great example of Wigans illegal tactics. It isn't individuals transgressing its coached . A coach that tells his players to "knock someone out" and "be reckless" on the telly, should be summoned before the RFL to explain himself. Offiah is talking out of his rear. In my opinion if Flower had stayed on the field and Lance had stayed on, we would still have beaten the pies but by an even bigger margin. Wigan had no plan B. Saints didn't give them room to play their game and outmuscled them and the wheels dropped off. It was fantastic to see and surpassed only by Wanes ugly mush resplendent with mard lip. Wonderful scenes indeed.
l:I was at Swinton, I remember it well! I was also at the GF!
Both games were won with grit and determination against the odds !
Wigan still had the ability to win in both games and they blew it!
We will never know what would have happened if Flower had remained on the field. But one things is certain it will always state in the history books Saints won and Wigan lost, no ifs or buts!
Roll on the 2015 season!
1997 CC cup Goulding sent of for hitting a big bloke by the way , interviewed coming back after half time , interviewer " bad luck about Goulding getting sent off, Unsworth one off Wigans assistants " aye for StHelens".
http://youtu.be/aYZ5pz81zFA
This one.
Probably my favourite Saints game ever.
I think Offiah is about 12 months away from Big Brother and not the celebrity one.
Learned comment from The Don
I respect Offiah as a player. He was an unbelievable finisher and it wasn't just pace he knew how to beat a man. If you look at his record it was amazing regularly topping 50 touchdowns a season albeit there were more fixtures then. He definitely had flaws in his game as mentioned earlier his defence wasn't particularly hot and he could not even pass a ball properly more basketball style not that he needed to pass often! He fully deserves due deference for what he did on the park.
However, as a pundit I think he sucks. When he used to be on that Sky game day show his summary was pathetic. He didn't even know most of the players.
It was a bad 'un and Goulding was volatile at the best of times. However, at that period in time against them, it was that kind of aggressive intent that helped us turn the tide on Wigan. Cowie used to be a swine against Saints as did Skerrett and O'Connor wasn't averse to it either. We went through a period where we hammered Cowie every single time we faced them. We were lucky on that occasion that we won the game; I still recall my dad and his mate suggesting we leave at HT, albeit only in jest. I remember leaving that game and just knowing that our name was on the cup again that season. Beating Wigan was rare, beating them with 12 men was a miracle. I still think the old ground bounced more when Hunte intercepted that try than any other time, even the Wide to West moment. Never felt anything like it that day in 97.
Anyway, regarding Offiah. He was a hell of a player. Much tougher than he's credited with as he got a hammering each and every week. He genuinely may as well have played with a big X on his back but he was still incredible. As a pundit, he's appalling. He can't speak properly and is unbalanced. Regarding some of his specific points. Well, the trophy wasn't 'handed to us'. We finished top of the table and battled ridiculous levels of adversity to even get to OT. We had some fortune there but that game in 97 proves that a man sent off doesn't make defeat inevitable. Equally, the only thing Saints have 'hanging over them' and have to 'live with' is the tag of champions. Anything else is nonsense. We'll be under the same pressure a club like St Helens are under every season. Saints, Wigan and Leeds, at the start of each year, are under pressure and expectancy to win things. Being champions or not changes nothing.
His thoughts on Wigan are probably true. They'll be motivated by defeat at OT, just as any other losing finalist would be.