Fair post. I'm confident that if we play to something like the best of our ability we will win, but we'll find out on Friday I guess.

I've argued with Cas fans who also say that the inconsistency and the manner of some of the defeats proves that we are not the real deal. I argue that it's all about what you do when it really counts. I think we have managed what has been at times a tricky campaign pretty well. You can't say we have had an injury crisis, but we have had several games where half a dozen plus players have been unavailable, and we played SL opposition all the way through the cup again. All you have to do is make the top four, and we've done that.

I think both games are up for grabs. it's who turns up on the night and maybe gets that bit of luck you need at times

Yeah hopfuly we do find out friday because it will mean both teams have served up there best and we get a quality game.

Im not sure what you mean by real deal,if its being a pretty good side thats capable of winning super league then i would say you are the real deal,your results across the season and final league position would support that. If its being the best side in the comp that on there day no one else can live with then i dont think you are the real deal...Again,your results across the season and final league position would support that too.

You have managed to get yourselves into good position,albeit by the skin of your teeth,on a last weekend that couldnt of played out any better for you,playing before wigan against a weakend team. I just think its a bit of a stretch to be claiming to be so hard for other teams to live with when over 30 league games you'v only won 5 more than you'v lost,took quite a few hammerings and havnt been overly dominant in a lot of the games you'v won.

No team that has lost their final league game has made it to Old Trafford under the current format.... apparently. Castleford now have to overcome that statistic.

Two interesting games and no Wigan to add to their run of successive GF's. High probability IMO that a new name will be on the trophy this year - after the semis that could be a 100% certainty ..... then again could be yet another Leeds V St Helens which would be a wasted opportunity for the sport.

Or just a wasted opportunity for Cas and Hull.

It would be that as well.

From a total of 38 GF appearances Bradford, Leeds, St Helens and Wigan have accounted for 34 of them. The last new SL Era Champions were Leeds in 2004. It's about time the sport had another new name on it's biggest domestic prize.

If Leeds or St Helens are good enough they could win it (and arguably deservedly so), I just don't think they are or will in 2017 and I don't think that would be a bad thing for the sport.

Just been reading on the cods board that a fair few of them are obtaining tickets outside their quota for other areas of HQ. If we can’t sell out without the presence of the SS for a winner takes all semi then that’s beyond disgraceful. Last thing we want is our home turf being turned into a replica of the Keepmoat.

I reckon about 90% of those sales will be from fans who live out of town and couldn't get to our club shop before general sale tomorrow despite trying to ring.

I don't quite get this bad for the sport if it is a Leeds v Saints final.

As a Cas fan, I obviously hope that we can get to the GF and happy to play Hull or Leeds.

However if it is a Leeds v Saints final, they will be both there on merit, why is that a bad thing?????

Bentham the ref for our game.

Child for the Cas/Saints game

True for me, I actually live in Leeds and bought 6 Western Terrace tickets from their office. Hull's ticketing situation is abysmal really & needs to improve.

Best of luck with Bentham, been Hull's player of the year up until now.





Seriously though, wish we had him for our game instead of Child. Bentham is head and shoulders the best ref this year.

You're wrong there Dave. He didn't win anything at our awards night. He needs to try harder. Good luck on Thursday.

His failure to spot Kelly's forward pass that led to the try just before half time in the cup semi was the game changer IMV.
It completely knocked the stuffing out of us.
I'm not saying we'd have won had that decision gone in our favour but sure as anything it didn't help our cause.
I just hope that this week's game doesn't hinge on refereeing decisions.

Can quite imagine FC Koln scenes at Headingley lol! Allegedly Koln fans bought home team memberships replica shirts and everything to get into the Emirates!

Seems the club are struggling even to sell out the game even with a reduced capacity

Its gona sell out.

There was over 13k for the Salford game.

I got a text this morning saying seats available in the north stand unlike Salford ST holders have to pay top $

Has the Carnegie Terrace sold out? If so I would expect the seats to follow in the next couple of days.

Hull have sold out our initial allocation and a further batch goes on sale in the morning.

Hull were given an initial allocation of 2000 and will be given a max extra 1000 as far as I am led to believe. Carnegie standing has more or less sold out, IMO it will sell out and it will be 3/4 Leeds 1/4 hull as Hetherington has expected it to be in his recent media.

A leeds fan complaining about a ref missing a forward pass is perhaps the most ironic thing I've ever read on these boards

We'll it's to be hoped he has also shelled out for an adequate police presence and extra stewards for when it kicks off if Hull are being beaten. The pints being thrown on the pitch and fighting on the Western Terrace at a recent Leeds v Hull play off could look quite tame to the potential trouble Friday may bring.

Never ceases to amaze and amuse me how some fans think only certain clubs get away with forward passes...funny that it's usually the likes of Leeds when they're winning/dominant that happen to also "get away with" all the forward passes. Amazing how you can get so many titles off the back of forward passes



I have a counter theory...maybe something to do with winning teams scoring more tries...

Agree Omar. Its a factoid probably based on one or two instances that may or may not have been right, and has mutated into some people thinking that Leeds' success over an entire decade was down to a gameplan based on deliberate forward passes.

We got some undoubted luck in GFs (Lee Smith offside and a few others) but our gameplan never relied on being so flat in attack that anyone could seriously claim we were lucky in forward pass rulings.