Southstander obsession with Wigan continues...

We're going into a home semi final with a win putting us on course to do the treble and the top subject on the board is another whinge about Wigan?!

Don't need to mention 3 special players could bow out tonight too.

Carry on talking about Wigan however...

We can talk about anything we want, would you agree?

Bateman was liker an old boxer with Grix last night. Once he'd opened up a cut he kept working it with his forearm and head. Surprise surprise it went unnoticed by the officials.

Wigan throw a lot of men into the tackles, some borderline late and control the ruck well. It's not pretty to watch and whether it be us or Saints I hope the Grand Final is refereed by someone who doesn't let it happen.

To be fair Ben Thaler is the best around , and usually quite hot on poophouse play , strange he didnt see fit to pull it last night .

P.s Tomkins did the head in the face thing twice in the first quarter also , again not picked up .

P.p.s. Wigan were very good last night .

Would I say we are the dirtiest team in the league? No, I think Catalans take that accolade, but would I say that I think we are very close to the line? Yes, and sometimes we go over it. When done correctly, aggression in our defence is what wins us games, and it's the basis of our performances week in, week out as teams can't usually match it. You take out that aggression from Wigan, and you lose most of what makes us a decent side.

As for people complaining about us lying on, I literally take those comments with a pinch of salt. The point of defence in rugby league is to slow down the opposition as much as possible, and get your line set as quickly as you can, if the referee isn't going to penalise it for what he thinks is 'lying on', then why should we stop it when it's clearly helping us? I hate the comparisons with those down under, but the Aussies sure as hell slow the game down as much as they can, so I have no problem with that point.

I actually hope you win tonight, been a while since a Wigan-Leeds Grand Final, and I can't for the life of me cheer St Helens on. You lot are decent bunch as well, loved Wembley 2011 sharing beers around London mixing with the Leeds lot despite the result so could be another great day out Saturday should you win tonight.

You'll never get any praise from me because of how your team is coached. Source? We are Warriors documentary. Wane is a thug. Horrible man, who comes across bitter in interviews, and compounds that fact in that documentary. Couldn't care less what you said about us aftet LLS and CCF. Wigan are rotten to the core. Everyone thinks it

Wigan, are an excellent club, and a very good side, to say other wise is just daft. They don't have a shred of charisma, but that doesn't win RL matches.

You are correct about it not winning matches. But I'm a bit mystified about this comment. Who are the Leeds players who you think are charismatic?

I presume that Wigan will be installed as favourites by the bookies, side at almost full strength and an easy warm up game. But I reckon with a good well executed game plan and a ref who favours a quick PTB, we are in with a good shout. But win or lose I am immensely proud of the effort and resilience shown in the last two games. The will to win in that team is epic. Can't wait for next week and a visit to OT

Interesting question, I'd say Wigan are the grubbiest but cats are the most hot headed, some games Catalans ain't too bad both others they just seem to completely lose logic. Wigan on the other hand are more calculated.

It's not tiddleywinks.

We will match up next week, no problem.

^^^^ this MOT

I never said any of the Leeds players were particularly charismatic, I'm a Leeds supporter so I'm obviously going to view the club differently to a non Leeds fan. The Wigan club just has a cold feeling about it, it's not a criticism, it's the robotic nature of the club that is a big part of what makes them successful.

I must say I usually enjoy your posts as you seem to speak a lot of sense. You might be right about this but I really think you are way off. The teams are well coached and we tend to offload less than other teams, but we pass the ball more than most and score tries from way out using our speedy wingers a lot.

I don't understand your robots claim. Please explain.

There was a notable lack of biff or even any sort of niggle in the game last night - complete contrast to Leeds/Saints games of years gone by. Will be interesting to see if that's the case next week.

The Wigan team is very well coached. To the point of being almost machine like - relentless, and ruthlessly efficient. Again, it's a compliment. I actually think Wigan are pretty good to watch, and the complaining about the slowing down of the ruck is daft because all teams do it, and Wigan are just better at it than most teams, and usually if people are complaining about it it means Wigan are winning.

I've always liked Thaler, but on Thursday he just became another weak ref. To hear him say " moving forward", as a Wigan player once more advanced 3 yards off the mark, was disconcerting to say the least. Despite Stuart Cummings television persona appearing to support his fellow refs, he appears to be a bit more truthful in the written media.
" I was always a great believer that you get a low penalty count by letting the players know what they can and cannot do, especially in the tackle and play the ball area.
Now it is more of a case of what you can get away without penalising, which can lead to inconsistency.
I also think it is dangerous to go out with a preconceived idea of how many penalties you can give.
The referee must referee what he sees and it is the players who decide the penalty count, not the referee- but perhaps my views are old fashioned now ! "

So there we have it, the refs become as weak and crooked as the governing organisation by blatantly disregarding the laws of the game. They do it because they lack moral integrity and wish to stay on the gravy train. The likes of Cummings also lack moral integrity and switch from their more honest press persona to their " let's just kid it's not happening" TV pundit persona. The result is we get a game which at it's worse, Thursday's game, becomes a case of who can milk most penalties and cheat better than the other team. The RFL, the media, the players and coaches are all complicit in turning the game into a sport as crooked as Association Football, which for many years has been derided for it's diving, acting and cheating from RL supporters. It's what we all now have to accept, because we have become a dishonest sport thanks to a lack of honesty from our governing body.

Strong words, but I fear you are correct. Wigan will be favourites on Saturday not because of their greater sublime attacking skills but because of their great ability to push things [iconsistently[/i to the limit in defence. The day ALL teams can match this 'skill' is the day when the rules will have to be changed. A spectacle it aint.

The approach to moving off the mark now seems to be that the attacking player is disadvantaging their side by shortening the ten metres. This is also balanced by the markers only needing to get back to where they would have needed to be in order to put themselves onside.

Not necessarily one I agree with, but that's the approach referees are taking and providing they are consistent I don't have a problem with it.

The laws and their interpretations are fluid, the game changes and evolves over the years. Deal with it. Players have always looked to push the referees as far as they can go. It used to be in the old contested scrums that each front row would be striking early, getting their feet in the wrong place trying to con the officials. The idea that it's some sort of corrupt modern malaise is absolute paranoid rambling nonsense.

Unfortunately it's how I feel, despite my team having possibly the most successful season in their history. I never thought I would see the day that soccer became a more honest sport than Rugby League. Can you imagine the FA saying to their refs,
" If he's only a yard or two offside just allow the goal. It will make the game more appealing"
I got my Grand Final tickets this morning and can't wait for next Saturday, I'm buzzing. But that is only because I'm Leeds mad and want my team to do themselves and the city proud. It's despite what the RFL are doing to the game.

That's a right load of rubbish.

no it isn't. you want every single offence penalising. go watch Union you'll enjoy watching a stop start game with 50 penalties a game

Of course it's rubbish. You ref football, would you let a goal stand if it was just a " little bit offside", or would you let a player move a free kick " just a couple of yards forward". Judging by what you say, you probably would. Football realised what was happening and how it was being derided, and chose to become a bit more honest.RL is hurtling in the other direction.

only if they are interfering with play, as in rugby.
I totally agree a moving off the mark. they move two yards left then get a pen as markers aren't square. I do think refs are getting wise though