Big game for more than just a 1/4 final.
After Widnes blew early season form out of the window, this realisticly is their only chance of silverware.
8th in the play offs and 10+ adrift of 4th will confine them to dead rubbers as it did Us Hull and Cats last season.

Game management from us must be adhered too.

I know....I meant quarter not semi.

I agree I still don't fully trust this squad just yet to deliver what they are capable of and that's a bit glass half empty of me as we are sitting comfortably in the league and bodies are coming back......but it is Widnes and as you said in reality it's all that they have to play for so nothing to be taken for granted

Be interesting to see how Betts sees this one. Widnes still have to play Leeds, Saints away, plus Catalan and Salford at home. That's a tricky run in although they do only need another 2 points to be safe from the 'Championship Challenge'. I suppose they should be safe, so yes perhaps Widnes will throw the kitchen sink at this game.

Simms missing for this one too!

Is it wrong for me to not be d if we lose, so we can get some breaks for players in the forth coming weeks?

very wrong..i want a trip to wembley,,the day im not d about us losing is the day you can cart me off to the funny farn

very wrong..i want a trip to wembley,,the day im not d about us losing is the day you can cart me off to the funny farn

It's a tough one for your lot.

Beat us and you are one step away from another CC final and a great chance of winning it again.

Lose to us and you'll be trolled to death til next year by some but, by the same token, losing to us lets you concentrate on the elusive prize of Champions.

It looks to me to be a three horse race this year with yourselves, Hull and Wigan (if they can get their big players back for the later games).

I know which one you would all prefer, I will just be happy to get to another semi-final giving us chance to assault another mascot live on BBC.

Good luck for Friday.

As I believe I said in the Catalan game thread, this season has been a stroll in the park and the squad look fresh as a daisy. Chris Hill in particular looks as though he has just come back from 4 weeks in Majorca.

I expect players to die in their boots before letting Widnes win this one. Its off to the naughty step for you.

I am more wary of teams that have ex wire players/ coaches in the team and on the coaching staff. Dragons had a decent game plan on Friday to kick to touch. Take time for the scrum to form so it takes a bit of heat out of the game. That must have come from monaghan. Hodgson will have his input into the widnes gamelan just like he did last year. They cannot play as badly as they did last Thursday. They should have won by 12.

Chris hill looks about as fresh as a daisy that has been grown, mowed, stomped on and put in a compost bin for 6 months, he was ready for being subbed within minutes of the kick off, and testament to the guy he kept going, he deserves to be our marquee player for what he's doing.


And to the others, i don't want us to lose, not really, but i've been to the challenge cup, we've won it, i'd much rather win the grand final now, thats the holy grail, the most coveted trophy now.

I'll take a defeat now to freshen up some knackered bodies going through august into september.

Well I suppose since you admit that you don't really want us to lose we will let you off with an EGP.

Trouble is, Smith is paid by results and has his reputation at stake, so regardless of what we fans wan't I think Hilly will put his hand up and Smith will play him - together with the side that he believes will win the game. I suspect the only rest some of the players will get will be on the bench, providing we are winning the game.

If you could virtually guarantee it and we had a choice of one trophy I think that most would choose the GF. However, it is Widnes we are talking about here and as a 'second prize' the CC is up there and maybe a closer pick if we hadn't had the success with it that we have had recently? In addition we don't have to win that many games to pick up the cup by comparison.

I suspect Sims having a well deserved break lessens our options with Hill? Hopefully if he plays he will play less minutes with Cox and Bailey doing more time with us having built up a healthy lead, but, as previously stated it is Widnes we are talking about.....

I think being the best also brings out the best in our opponents,as we have found out numerous times !

I'm still old school UR.
Offer me CC final over GF every year.
Old Trafford just doesn't come close to Wembley, winning the cup is a bi-product of the win there.

SL long as were in the CC. Then the CC should be priority.

Has anybody considered that the players might crave a Wembley appearance?

There are only four players from our 2012 line-up (plus Harrison) who are likely to be in the seventeen should we make it there this year.

I also suspect the bonuses for winning the Cup are considerable as it's a huge financial windfall for the club.

Chris has been playing with strapping for some weeks now and I'm sure he'd play this game even as it's the Cup, but I do hope he gets a break after this - at least a week.
He is the key to our pack.
That's hopefully something Dodds and Cooper can remedy next year because even though I like Sims he doesn't carry the same reputation and respect as Hill (then again I can't think of any other props who do).

I want us to win the lot. Any trophy is better than no trophy.

A defeat would be hugely disappointing, but by the time I'd be back at the car I'd be thinking about the two weekends off the squad would get and how that could only help with our challenge for the 'big one'.

Get me to Wembley, every time. Not bothered about the Mickey Mouse Cup, that Sky have been brainwashing us for years, as the big one. It isn't in my eyes in any respect and I would be gutted not to get to Wembley, as would the players who haven't been there.

Chris Hill said at the start of the season that he would take being in the GF over a guaranteed CC win if offered, so it seems your players have quite the opposite opinion

Without this mickey mouse cup offered to us by sky we as a sport would be doomed

the season long fight for this cup pays the bills. It is the pinnacle of the season (although sky have twisted the scope of it) and crowns the champions of the season. For that reason every teams number 1 priority is to win at OT. Wembley is a nice bonus for the fans and players alike.

I would much prefer a win at OT before we next win at Wembley.

We are well & truly in the pocket of sky with the tv deal & the annoying part for me is the complete disregard for supporters by changing games at short notice & wanting to play games on nights to suit padding out the sky schedule. I don't have sky sports.

As I said always Wembley for me between the two.
It would be nice to get the gf monkey off out backs for brag purposes but then I wouldn't give two monkeys about the gf afterwards so long as we get to Wembley.