It must be a generation thing, but having supported the club for over 50 years,the challenge cup, in the current set up is the top honour for me.

After losing last years Mickey Mouse cup I couldn't have cared less, and neither could the 4 others who I went with, we all said we wont go again . Leaving Old Trafford we all couldn't have cared less. It felt like an end of season friendly. I still feel that more honour should be given to winning the league, and that the team who do, should be called the champion team. A champion team is the best over the season, not just three games at the end of the season.
We should then have the Grand Final playoff and the winners should be the Grand Final trophy winners.
However this is probably a bit too logical.
Simples

I'd hand Australia the World Cup on a silver platter right now if it meant Warrington had the next 50/50 video ref decision we're involved in go our way, never mind win a trophy.

What difference does any international tournament make to your life compared with a week in week out passion?

Agree 100% with that last comment, Dropkick.

Warrington is the priority for me. The World Cup is an important tournament, and I'll be supporting it, but I'd take Warrington winning either trophy over England. It's not really England anyway. We have actual foreign players playing for England. It's hard to be patriotic about a team that includes players from other countries. I don't agree with it in any sport, be it cricket, football, whatever. I don't care that the Australians do it.

I'll never tire of seeing Warrington win trophies. When we won the CC in 74 I'll wager no-one in that crowd thought it would be 35 years before we'd win it again. Never take it for granted.

As for worst feelings after games, Hull KR in the Challenge Cup. Grim. And losing the game didn't help, especially from my vantage point in Bruges.

Unfortunately the attitudes above are why rugby league will never be a big sport in this country. Not saying I don't feel the same but it is the root of the issue. We are all parochial.

And with regard to cup wins, I would swop the Challenge Cup for the SL title this year. Both would be nice of course. And then the WCC.

Well part of the problem is that the international game has been so consistently mismanaged that it's difficult to support them over your club. I'd love RL to have an international scene like Union, that people who don't follow the sport week in, week out, could get excited about come the international window, but we don't. The reason we don't is that opportunities to grow the game outside the heartlands have been missed by the governing bodies so that it's neither economically feasible and the product on the field isn't there and won't be for decades because the infrastructure's not there.

The grip SKY has on the game here, combined with the clueless leadership from the RFL, means that the sport has NO negotiating power when it comes to expanding its viewer base, generating more income and thus looking to expand the international scene. My biggest feeling about the world cup is that it could well be a colossal embarrasment, with a lot of games getting less than 1000 people into watch. If it was a properly run international scene putting country over club would make sense, as it is, why should we? RL fans are, at heart, no more parochial than football, yet I don't see that sport suffering from a lack of international competition.

Football is a big sport in this country and I don't know a single person who attends matches regularly and would rather see success for their country than their club. In fact I know plenty who just wish the international game didn't exist as they see it as a pointless distraction from the real business.

Club before country every single time.

What football has - along with sports like cricket and rugby union - are casual fans who don't attend club matches all year but get excited about watching their country. I acknowledge rugby league doesn't have that, and an England win in November could be seen as raising profile, but I doubt it would to any long term degree. If the England hockey team won a major tournament for example, would it make a huge difference? Doubtful because it's a minority sport and that's that. It will take a lot more than a World Cup win to change that for RL, and either way my personal passion for Warrington is massively overriding. I'd prefer England to win the World Cup given the option, but deep down I couldn't really care less.

I don't agree with those above who suggest those of us who have said we massively favour the Grand Final are taking the Challenge Cup for granted either. It's simply a case of us having seen us win one competition three times recently and not yet seen the other at all. We as a club have not been crowned Champions of rugby league in this country for over half a century either, so that kind of influences our thoughts. If I supported Leeds then given the option at the start of the season I imagine I'd probably choose the Challenge Cup over the Grand Final as it's noticeably absent from their recent phenomenal CV. Swings and roundabouts. If we had won both recently, or neither for decades (as was the case four years ago) I'd want both equally and be delighted with either.

As for the WCC, well I don't envisage us ever winning that now the Aussies seem to be doing better in it that they used to. If the Aussies are focussed and up for it then the NRL Champions are generally going to beat the Super League Champions, so I'm not going to get too worked up over it. Qualifying to play in the WCC is more important than winning it for me, although if we end up doing so then brilliant.

That is exactly how it should work, having only 2 trophies in a season to compete for isn't enough as it is.

Whilst I share your views on parochialism, I think it is further compounded by apathy. There are not that many foregone conclusions in sport, but Australia turning it on, when it matters, is certainly one of them.

I loved it all the way up to Chase playing for England, i took it on the chin with other nations but soon as we joined in with Chase is so obviously not English, didn't grow up in the youth system, played here for 5 minutes, played for a Maori team, stated he wanted a NZ call up.

I was done after that, i'll watch it, i'll want England to win it but i'm more interested in seeing the Oz and Kiwi stars playing over here.
No WC win, no big deal.

I'd enjoy beating Wigan in a friendly testimonial more than an England win.

Overall am not bothered what Wire, as long as we keep winning. Or at least been in the top 4, anything below can be seen as a decline

What RU and football also have is huge levels of corporate sponsorship, which gives profile.

How do you get this? Publicity, blue chip companies wanting to be associated with your sport.
How do you get publicity? The media, TV, newspapers, magazines, radio
How do you get the media to take notice? Large events on a national and international stage
What NATIONAL event is happening this year that doesn't happen every year and is our opportunity? The WC

Normally fine, club over country it's nothing new or unique and I'm probably in that camp, but this year is different, it's an opportunity and everyone dismissing the WC, saying they have no personal interest in England or saying it won't make a difference if we win, make the final, lose whatever is throwing another spadeful of dirt onto the RL burial mound.

Don't give a flying pig about going to OT.Wembley is the one I look forward to as for me the two occasions don't even compare.I've got used to it + I'll never get fed up of going back there.

I'm in the camp who'd give up any Warrington victory to see England win the World Cup.

We shouldn't be even thinking about resting players for the Challenge Cup, and we should give a few guys a run-out tomorrow. Ultimately it won't affect us at all come September/October.

Crikey,I hope your lot are as focussed tomorrow on the game as you lot are on this thread. 55 posts and hardly a mention of the original post.



FWIW I think you will still win

Wolves Team: Hodgson,
C Riley, J Monaghan, C Bridge, Williams, Briers, M Monaghan, Carvell, Higham, Hill, Waterhouse, Currie, Cooper

Wolves Subs: Dwyer, Harrison, McCarthy, G Riley

Five players rested. That seems to answer the question as to how important TS views the semi final next week.

The only surprising one to me is Stef being out and Monas in the halves, but it's been called by a few on here so not wholly unexpected. Nice to be able to do some rotation in the squad though, it's a luxury we've not had in the past.

I think it will probably take the rest of the day to wipe the smile off TS's face after that result. Two points, five players rested, only one try conceded and 28 points to nibble away at Wigan's point difference. Were there any injuries ?

Both Joel & Brett looked to be carrying injuries at the end.
Bridgey did go off & went straight down the tunnel around the 65 minute mark, but he came back on for the last 5 minutes.

Apparently Bridge was being sick.

He was very sick, did well to come back on.

Can I just say Brett Hodgson is quickly becoming one of my favourite non-HKR player in SL. Applauded the numbers of Rovers fans pre-match, took the banter well all game and is a general credit to your club.

Not to mention how the hell he gets up after getting pummelled almost every tackle, great little full-back!

If memory serves this used to be a weekly occurrence due to nerves, not sure whether this is still the case or he has 'got over it' for want of a better word.

He was getting very worried over Padders' forthcoming posts about him.