No but if we do finish top it will mean we have had a very enjoyable seasons RL compared to inconsistent tripe of the last three seasons.

Dave

I disagree.

The grand final is what teams aim for, which will always distort things slightly as the top teams condition themselves to perform at their best in october. If you won the title for finishing top teams would go all out from week in one and you wouldn't get as many shocks that you do early season.

Didn't Leeds win 2 of the last 3 from finishing second in the league?

That's good.

But saints finished top 4 times on the trot and won only 1 title out of that. If you'd ask them to swap some of the sparkling rugby and consistency they had for abit more inconsistency and doing it when it matters you know what they'd choose.

I've also got good money on it happening!

MM on GMR just reported Mossop has dislocated his shoulder, could do with Harrison regaining his fitness at this stage of the season. He also confirmed that Gleason was dropped for OFF FIELD reasons.

You want to finish top as it says you were the best side that season. It makes it a bit easier going into the grand final. Like Dave said, means a more enjoyable season. You have to strive for the top spot or whats the point in any competitive game/sport??

So Saints were the best side when finishing top for years even though they lost to Leeds?

We might as well play our u20 side for the rest of the season then, theres no point trying. If fact lets cancel the league and just have the playoffs

No it doesn't. Winning the title get's you recognised as the best team that season. Bradford fnished 3rd in 05 but are remembered as the best because they won the grand final.

I wouldn't say teams strive for top spot. I'd say they take each game at a time and will aim for a high position in the playoffs.

So any team who beat Saints in one single game over that period were better than them?

Why?

Playoff positions still have to be decided.

When the game is the grand final, and the title is on the line, yes.

We could play our u20s from here and still finish in the playoffs easily. Why are we bothering wasting our energy?

If you played your u20s for the rest of the season you'd lose most of the rest of your games and would miss out on the playoffs.

Just got back now.

Joel and Pat for me were superb as were the rest of the pack. A really tough game, from the begging penalties dictated who'd win it and thankfully it was us. I thought Sam defensively was superb, he cleaned up everything, and was first to the ball every time.

Not going to talk about ref much, I though we were hard done by a little but thankfully it didn't cost us the game.

A very very tough game, but incredibly pleasing to come out of it on the right side. Good performance all round really, just thought Marsh was a little weak, but it's to be expected due to his age and experience.

Be a big confidence boost to the players no doubt.

So if a team finishing 8th beats top in the playoffs they are a better team? The grand final is a one off game and you can fluke a one off game. You cant fluke finishing top of the league over 27 games.

I understand what you are getting at but we've not had the consistancy Leeds have had over the past few seasons. Being top of the league is a massive step forward.

Finishing top of the league is a major step forward for a team which is pretty much the same as last year.

We are happy that we are the top of the league as we are now seeing the type of rugby we've craved for.

Tbf today showed just how far we've come as a team.

We would have lost that game last season and now we are starting to show a real gritty will to win that's not been there against the small clubs like Hudds.

If a team come from 8th they will fully deserve the title. You can't fluke finishin top after 27 games, but you can't fluke winning 3 playoff games away from home and a grand final either.

The arguments some of you guys are putting forward are from fans that think their team will be recognised for finishing top.

You won't.

Ask saints fans.

If you finish top but don't win the grand final, people will only remember the grand final winners. That's the way it is. That's why I can't understand why you're getting so giddy about being top.

Like i said, finishing top, like you also said, gets you recognition for being the best team in the regular season.

It's foolish to say you don't want to finish top. If that was the case you'd see teams throwing games not to finish top. Don't be so daft. In any sport you want to win EVERYTHING. That also includes coming top.

It may not be the most important but still a nice thing to achieve.

Like it.

Wrong. Over the last 3 years the average points for finishing eighth is 23.6. So you could say we are already in, lets just pack up and stuff the rest of the season

There's no such thing as that.

People don't say ''leeds, 2008 champions, but saints best team through the regular rounds'' People only remember the champions.


I never said people DON'T WANT to finish top. What I was saying was that, at the start of the season the top teams won't think, ''right, got to get top spot''. It's more a case of building up towards the playoffs, and if you get top spot it's a nice bonus.

I really can't understand why it matters to you that a bunch of Wigan fans on a Wigan board being pleased that their team has shown a distinct and consistent improvement over previous seasons, and would be chuffed to finish top even if we don't win the Grand Final - it's a big step forwards.

Some of your points are valid, but why does it matter to you to try and 'convert' people?