cpwigan wrote:The LLS is immaterial. It is a garbage concept, an after though. Please tell me no Wigan fan takes is seriously or believe it is more important than the SL GF. The clubs do not take it seriously.
If we win the Grand Final & LLS it's still two trophies, people last season on here complained that we eased of once the playoffs were guaranteed. So the shield obviously meant something or they wouldn't of been slagging Shaun Wane off.
LLS is the least important but we're out of the cup so why not go for it
Coming top and winning the League has been devalued for some by the "Made for SKY TV Grand Final".
The clubs don't take it seriously and that's why attendances are dropping. Fans won't pay for something that is belittled.
Trouble is for clubs turnstyle money is what keeps them going.
I think the LLS should be revalued with a better trophy, far larger cash prize and a medal for the winning players.
Until clubs treat coming top of the league more seriously then we will continue as a sport to be in financial strife.
I value the LLS it's a pity the clubs and others do not!
Kaii wrote:Hollow victory? We batter our boggy side while the atmosphere in the DW was excellent, overall a very good night for the club. Then you say (a supposed Wigan fan) it's a hollow victory.
Just a question Dave where you at the match last week? When outside of our ground Cas fans basically had a party while taking the piss out of every Wigan fan they saw. Hollow victory, you are talking shit mate
I was working last week. I had two OU tutorials to give in Manchester so no I did not see that.
But I stand by my point. Whenever we lose a league game it doesn't matter (so we are told) because in the grand scheme of things the playoff are what counts.
So I am afraid the vengeance aspect of tanking a side you lost to in the cup the week before has gone out of the window.
Kaii wrote:Hollow victory? We batter our boggy side while the atmosphere in the DW was excellent, overall a very good night for the club. Then you say (a supposed Wigan fan) it's a hollow victory.
Just a question Dave where you at the match last week? When outside of our ground Cas fans basically had a party while taking the piss out of every Wigan fan they saw. Hollow victory, you are talking shit mate
I was working last week. I had two OU tutorials to give in Manchester so no I did not see that.
But I stand by my point. Whenever we lose a league game it doesn't matter (so we are told) because in the grand scheme of things the playoff are what counts.
So I am afraid the vengeance aspect of tanking a side you lost to in the cup the week before has gone out of the window.
It doesn't matter.
But to get into that play off, you have to win far more matches than what you lose, especially to gain the advantage of more home games in it and a better chance to reach the Grand Final.
I don't care if I am the only person in the country who enjoys watching my team in the league prior to September. I just do. I also like it when we come top, as it generally means that I have seen us win a lot of games during the season.
I simply don't get the "it doesn't matter/hollow victory" line of argument, but each to their own. Are we back in the Cup, no. Will we be top if we win on Wednesday, yes. And that is a long way better than nothing.
I seem.to recall people criticising us for fielding weakened teams for much the second part of last year. Presumably, none of those same people would be in the "hollow victory/what's the point" camp?
To me as a fan every match matters and every win should be celebrated. Yes some matter more than others but that has always and will always be the case whatever league system you operate. I for one enjoyed the win on Friday. It gave me pleasure. So for that it was not meaningless or hollow. I obsess about the details of this sport every bit as much as some others but that doesn't stop me enjoying a win for my team.
I appreciate tha I may be going round in circles with myself, but I wonder whether the "hollow victory" point is because we happened to beat Cas in ten less important match, rather than that all league games are trivial. In which case, that is not a bad point. I prefer bitter sweet, though, and still really enjoyed it - Gelling v Carney - 2 great wingers - Powell and Taylor coming back in (Wane made selection mistakes the previous week, IMO) - typical Highes curate's egg...
Kaii wrote:Hollow victory? We batter our boggy side while the atmosphere in the DW was excellent, overall a very good night for the club. Then you say (a supposed Wigan fan) it's a hollow victory.
Just a question Dave where you at the match last week? When outside of our ground Cas fans basically had a party while taking the piss out of every Wigan fan they saw. Hollow victory, you are talking shit mate
I was working last week. I had two OU tutorials to give in Manchester so no I did not see that.
But I stand by my point. Whenever we lose a league game it doesn't matter (so we are told) because in the grand scheme of things the playoff are what counts.
So I am afraid the vengeance aspect of tanking a side you lost to in the cup the week before has gone out of the window.
It doesn't matter.
Do we need to know you were giving two tutorials in Manchester? A bit pretentious me thinks!
I am not sure if others felt the same but I fully expected Wigan to beat Cas after the cup defeat and yes you can describe it IMO as (a hollow victory / after the lords mayor show / sods law) whatever because the game that truly mattered we lost.
I personally hate the present system. I believe British RL supporters / British sports fans (in the main) hate / cannot accept franchising / no P&R and having a play off at the end of the season rather than a league championship to decide the best team in the league. Yes, you can offer token gestures but in reality they mean nothing. Look at last season. Wigan won SL, Wigan will be remembered as the club that did the double. Oh I forget Huddersfield were given a hubcap for finishing top of the regular season.
I believe when every game TRULY matters, when you have to win every game then it produces a more intense / higher standard of competition. The players become better players too IMO. Today provided you make the top 5 / 8 depending on your club you can rest players / lose games / experiment with selection and if you then win the GF; nobody cares a jot.
I was brought up in an era of mission impossible season endings, packed stadia for rearranged fixtures, several fixtures in the space of days, teams genuinely battling for a championship that would go down to the wire (apologies) and could be won on points difference. Week in week out you had to win every game like it was a cup tie. It was not always the case but more often than not it was. I attended alliance games (far better RL IMO than academy) and later academy games to watch young players develop and play good RL.
Some people will watch THEIR team come what may but IMO it is the non disciples you need to convince that here is an event / a game truly worth spending your hard earned and watching. The event side of sport has been lost through no P & R (if we rectified that why not the GF (because SKY say so) and through a SL GF play off system.
I wasn't at the match and I wont say why incase Kaii calls me pretentious (he is the arbiter of all things sartorial, obviously).
But the nature of the score suggested to me that we are actually a better team than Cas. And we were last week or at least we should have been. That makes last week even more disapointing to me. Which is why I'm seeing this result and not feeling totally positive.
Its weird but a win by say 6 points would have made me feel better - we would have been looking at two genuinely well matched clubs involved in close battles and ended honours even.
