Wigan 18
St Helens 6[size=590[/size

Problem is, our defensive line actually works and our forwards, well, they don't include Coley and Fielden.

I think it will be much closer than many people are thinking. We say Sunday wasn't draining, however taking on a pack like leeds is always going to be hard work regardless of how easy people perceived it to be.

Gleeson like him or not will give Wigan a massive lift, the guy managed to make Faafili (Or however you spell it!) Look good at Warrington and is definitely amont the top 5 English centres, if not the best.

If the rumours are true about us missing Wello are true and Lomax comes in this certainly weakens us again. If the Likes of Hock and O'loughlin can fire I think this game will be a real tear up.

I for one wont be comfortable on Thursday until it's impossible for Wigan to win, here's to a good game.

Hargreaves and Fa'asavalu.

Are both comfortably better than Coley and Fielden.

But your missing Jason Cayless and have are pretty low on reserves. So that should even things out a bit more.

Cayless has been very poor since his return, and was again on Sunday.

We're arguably stronger without him, looks a shadow of the player he was.

Who do you have to replace him?

Graham
Cunningham
Hargreaves
Clough
Wilkin
Flannery

Fa'asavalu
Puletua
Roby
Ashurst

= massively better than Wigan's pack and bench.

My head says otherwise and i have felt like this on other occasions and been let down but....

i think wigan will just edge it by maybe a few points. Saints were Awsome on sunday and they will take some beating (well they will take a MASSIVE amount of beating) but for this game there seems to be a large amount (understandbly so) of pessimism by us in the build-up. This could be a season changer. a win here could kickstart our year.

i had to suffer watching Saint demolish Leeds yesterday in the Bird ith Hand next to Knowsly road yesterday and the fans in there were only to keen to tell me how much of a walkover Thursday will be for them. hopfully a little bit of that attitude might creep into the Saints squad because why would it not? we have been poor pretty much all season and they have been outstanding.

if we muscle up and get ontop of there pack we are more than capable of chucking the ball around, look at the Bulls win, there was some champange rugby being played on that occasion.

so maybe, just maybe we can do it. lets all of us make the JJB the most intimadating atmosphere possible. Lets scream the place down, lets show the Scum know just how much we HATE them. let our lads know just how much we LOVE them. lets egg them on all the way win or lose.

most importantly though lets stay till the end no matter what the score. for to long has a lot of our support been to quick to spit the dummy out and leave early and it makes me SICK.

WE ARE WIGAN.......COME ON THE WARRIORS.

(Bloody heck, i am just about ready to march over Billinge Lump tonight, whos with me!!!!?)

Never turn down the chance to send the rats scuttling back over Billinge Lump



We shall not surrender!!!



[size=59...until the 3rd minute[/size

Wigan by 8

Hull KR have beaten saints this season and Wakefield showed early on that their defence can be breached. In recent years we have been beaten before we took the field against saints but we are due a good start and if we can compete in the early exchanges, RL is a strange game. With the signing of Gleeson our backline is much improved.

The key to whether we compete or not on Friday is the performances of the likes of Fielden and Coley. IF they click, we have the power in the back row and the guile in the 3/4 line to ask questions, and if we can get an early lead or at least stay in touch our players might gain a bit of belief.

The key from our point of view is how we target their youngsters. Strong though saints are, they are still going through a transitionary period and if our coaching staff can target the right players there is no reason why we cannot compete. For crying out loud, they are only human, and as far as I am concerned are nowhere near as good as they were 2 or 3 years ago. It's just a sad indictment of our own team that most supporters have given up already.

So Long, Cuningham, Wellens are not getting older, picking up the odd injury, forcing the introduction of the likes of Clough, Lomax, Wheeler, ashurst etc??

I'm not disputing that these players aren't good eniugh, but as a coach I would be making sure that my team were asking questions of the new and ageing players (cunningham excepted maybe)

saints are not unbeatable.

Saints have been collared lately for their 'famous forward pass trys'.

So, if the officials stop them doing that, and our forwards get stuck in, we are in with a chance.

But they are still coping with things, yes we have injuries and players are getting older but we have already seen that we have the young players who are capable of stepping up when needed.

I think some of your fans are being overly pessimistic over the score line I think it will be a lot closer than some of you expect.

I think it will be a lot closer than all the doom & gloom merchants are suggesting, my one hope is that everyone raises their game and plays with the passion and pride we deserve against Stains, there should not be one of them that doesnt realise what a win would mean for the fans, team and club!

Name a team whose players are not getting older?

Our time as a good team was meant to end without Newlove, Iro, Sullivan, Martyn, Joynt, Sculthorpe, Anderson, Fozzard, Lyon etc etc

Also funny how at the start of every season we hear Long/KC/Wellens are past it/slow/fat, then when we look like winning things again they're the reason and it will all fall apart when they leave.

Saints have been in transition for 13 years, difference is we do it well.

The young players you mentioned are all excellent prospects, Clough is already a fine player.

Not a team but Stanley Gene. Wasn't 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' based on him?

Don't kid yourselves by 20 mins in the game will be over.

With Saint's relentless attack and our slow start to the game Saint will hit us hard early on. Our high penalty count and inability to run out set of six after set of six then put a good kick in will prove very costly.

We need to come out fired up and hit saint hard early on. Not get caught napping and protect the ball.
Need a big game from Tommy. He's been at Wigan for sometime now and needs to run the game like a true 7. However I feel he doesn't have the ability to do this. Trent did it all last season and Sam is too inexperienced to run the show.

Can we win a battle with the forwards? Probably not. Fielden has been terrible and Coley worse. Prescott is good and Feka is destructive, but isn't on the field long enough to have any lasting impact.

We need the second rows and loose to be tackle machines not letting saints come near.
We now have good backs but we need to get the ball to them, this will be our main concern with an average no.7 playing behind a beaten pack.

Wigan team

Richards
Roberts Gleeson Carmont Ainscough
Tomkins Tommy
Fielden Riddell Prescott
Hansen Tomkins
Lockers
------------
Feka Hock Bailey McClorum.

I did contemplate putting Smith on the bench, someone who can throw the ball around and get it out to the backs, but his defense is shocking and hasn't proved himself at Wigan in attack.

Feka and Hock for impact. Hansen and Joel to start for their defensive qualties.

Hock and Feka coming on after 20 will add the impact needed. after Wigan stick out the early 20min storm from a Saints attack.

Lets not all get to much doom and gloom before the games itself, people with short memories may have forgotten about this team that beat saints 6 years ago in an easter fixture at Wigan.

22 Shaun Briscoe
5 Brian Carney
18 Martin Aspinwall
4 Paul Johnson
27 Jon Whittle
15 Sean O'Loughlin
7 Adrian Lam
8 Terry O'Connor
9 Terry Newton
10 Craig Smith
21 Ricky Bibey
12 Danny Tickle
17 Mark Smith

16 Danny Sculthorpe
24 David Allen
25 Kevin Brown
26 Mark Roberts

We have a team now littered with Wigan lads, 7/8 of the starting 13 on thursday depending on selection are Wigan lads.

Keep the faith

Are all better than are current counterparts.

Games are not won on paper though. I can't say I am too worried about Hargreaves, Clough, Flannery, Fa'asavalu and Ashurst.