Nail hit on head, there. You can almost always guarantee that we lose both of those matches. The only time we won them both in the same year was in 2011, which takes me back to the same old trite point that this was the season in which we should have won it. Leeds nobbed us off then, too.

Facing Leeds in week three is a nauseating prospect, so ordinarily you'd think that perhaps it'd be best for us to win in week one, then hope that Wigan turned over Hudds and we could then actually make decent use of the much-maligned club call and not have to face Leeds in the semis. On the face of it, we could then pick our supposed bunnies, Huddersfield, and have a decent shot at getting to OT. However, I'd always have a lingering fear that Saints would then turn over Hudds in the elimination round, leaving us with the choice of picking Leeds or Saints in the semis. On the face of it, that is no choice at all - it's Saints all the way, then you see their record of 15/16 wins at our place and it makes me cringe. I still think for the purposes of devil and deep blue sea, Saints at home would have to be the call.

Even if that scenario did play out and we got club call and picked Hudds/Saints and beat them, does anyone fancy Wigan beating Leeds in the other semi? Not really.

Then does anyone fancy playing Leeds at OT? Not really.

I think the stars need to align for us to win it this year and, try as I might, I just cannot see us doing it. As Dropkick says, we need to win next week and hope that someone else takes care of Leeds in the subsequent elimination round. If not (and it’s pretty unlikely it will happen), then I reckon it'll be Leeds, Leeds, Leeds yet again.

If we lose next week that "three in a row" could potentially start with Saints at home (depending on the Hudds V Wigan and Saints V HKR results), followed by Leeds away. Our record in those two fixtures makes the prospect of winning them both in successive weeks look unlikely. Next week matters! Even if we win though, the prospect of having to play Leeds again two weeks later is hardly mouth watering.

Bring back the top six format sharpish. I'd feel a lot happier now with a week off next week then a trip to Huddersfield the week after for a shot at a short cut to Old Trafford, knowing we would have a home game V the best of the rest to fall back on if we lost it. This top eight format does my head in!

Couldn't have summed it up better. It's what makes the play offs special and makes us all a bit skitzo this time of year.

This is why I love the grand final and playoffs. You have so much riding on these games. Everything is on the line. Every knock on, penalty, mis placed pass is crucial. You go skitz during the games. You wait all season for these games. This is what it's all about.

Yep, once the play offs come around the wait for the next match is agonising. Somehow even the challenge cup doesn't inspire the same level of intensity or anticipation. Love or hate this format it does have strange way of messing with your mind. I mean whoever wins on Saturday is going to be thinking great a home semi but do we really want a week off? I think over the years it hasn't proved to be very advantageous. There is also the possibility of winning when it doesn't matter and losing when it does or worse still losing to one of your biggest rivals twice in 3 weeks on the big stage!

I doff my cap, good Sir.

Trafford, here we come.