Widnes v Cas

[The booze hound]

Surely it's not who'd get into our first 13, it should be 17 with the bench being a vital part of the modern game.
I'd take Carney and Clarke.

Potato? Potato? (Said in 2 different accents)

It's just easier to do it for our strongest 13 against theirs, position for position! I would not have Carney over Josh or Budgie and I would have MM over any other SL Hooker including Clark and Roby!!

I'd have MM in my first 13, Clarke coming off the bench. And where I'm from we call them spuds (in 1 accent)

[southernpie]

Never mind Cas, from the whole of Super League the only person I can think of to put in our best 13 would be Joel Moon

Surely Sir Kev haha!!

Seriously though Joel Moon without doubt!!

Peacock?
Hill?

Peacock a couple of years ago maybe, but not now, I'd rather Taylor and Flower, with Clubb and Crosby as back up and I've been impressed with what I've seen of Sutton. Hill? good but not enough to replace what we've got..... just my opinion :smil:

[cpwigan]

http://www.leaguefreak.com/

http://www.leaguefreak.com/

You will have to scroll down to the Semi Stuff

[southernpie]

Interesting idea..... banning Widnes from the cup for 5 years. IMO that's going a bit too far.
There have been a few ...higher profile (for want of a better expression) incidents lately and probably does want stamping on from a great height before it gets worse. It is still only a minority but if the RFL keeps letting it slip with no meaningful sanctions it could get a lot worse.

[Kaii]

I looked like quite a few Widnes fans were letting themselves down after the full time hooter

I posted a video when they were 0-22 down all singing, clapping cheering like proper fans then 2 mins later they were kicking of in the tunnel on the south side. Stood there recording the whole thing happen only to realize i never pressed record lol.

These people kicking off weren't the normal match going Widnes fans, these people were idiots. If we're not playing i'll tag along with my Widnes mates, there's been plenty of times i've stood alongside them wearing a Wigan top and not one person has ever complained.

Hopefully these idiots will be banned i just hope they don't punish the club with a points deduction

Sorry Kaii I have to disagree with that. You don't pay over £40 for home and away shirts to not be a supporter. I have been to Widnes many many times and wittnessed this sort of behavior from there fans so this is nothing new. Sad but true.

I believe you but as i said been plenty of times with them and not had any problems, for example on the 29th i'm going watching the game with my wife, dad and Kai then they're going home and i'm heading to The Albion for a night out with my Widnes mates.
Those idiots have shamed their club and all their good fans. My friend's wife is one of the bosses at Widnes and she thought the reports were getting exaggerated until i told her differently

[Owd Codger]

Why should any Rugby League club be banned from the Challenge Cup Competition because of trouble caused by thugs who are not genuine supporters of a club, but more than likely are football supporters.

From what I saw on Sunday, most were!

[TrueBlueWarrior]

Why should any Rugby League club be banned from the Challenge Cup Competition because of trouble caused by thugs who are not genuine supporters of a club, but more than likely are football supporters.

From what I saw on Sunday, most were!

Exactly, it's not the club or players fault that fans whether 'real' fans or not act like idiots!!

[josie andrews]

RFL to investigate Castleford v Widnes pitch invasion


The Rugby Football League is to investigate after fans ran onto the pitch following Castleford's Challenge Cup semi-final win over Widnes.

Police and stewards had to intervene to stop spectators from the Widnes section at the Leigh Sports Village.

A statement said: "The RFL will await reports from the stadium, the police and the two clubs before deciding what action to take."

Widnes have thanked fans for their help in trying to identify those involved.

The club apologised for what the club described as "disgraceful scenes" and, in a further statement on Monday, said they had received a "big response from supporters with information regarding the perpetrators".

A crowd of 12,000 fans watched Castleford win 28-6 to join Leeds in the final, to be played at Wembley on 23 August.

When the hooter sounded to finish the game, supporters from the end allocated to Widnes invaded the pitch.

While Castleford fans appeared not to respond to any goading, violence broke out on the field as police and stewards attempted to quell the disturbance.

Widnes CEO James Rule said the club would work with the RFL and police to carry out a full investigation.

He added: "After all the hard work that has gone into this season... it is sickening to see such shameful scenes perpetrated by a minority of 'supporters'."

RFL chief executive Nigel Wood said there was "no place for such behaviour in rugby league".

He added: "True rugby league supporters are renowned for their good nature at all occasions such as this and we will not hesitate to use whatever measures are available to us to protect these precious values."

Tigers head coach Daryl Powell praised his team's fans for their "impeccable" behaviour.

"We were really professional and composed on the field and they stayed the same, which is always pleasing," he said.

"It could have escalated, which would have been a bad story for rugby league."
One female spectator sprained an ankle, the RFL confirmed.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/28734327

[cpwigan]

Powell is actually incorrect. 1 Cas fan entered the pitch and physically attacked a Widnes fan,

[southernpie]

Why should any Rugby League club be banned from the Challenge Cup Competition because of trouble caused by thugs who are not genuine supporters of a club, but more than likely are football supporters.

From what I saw on Sunday, most were!

What difference does it make who they were, the clubs sold the tickets and the majority of the troublemakers were wearing Widnes colours. This "football supporters" excuse that you seem to use quite frequently is IMO just that an excuse. IMO ANYONE that behaves violently at a RL match should be dealt with harshly.

Exactly, it's not the club or players fault that fans whether 'real' fans or not act like idiots!!

Which is why I said it was going too far IMO

Regardless of whether they are 'real' fans or not, sanctions need to be made. Similar arguments (ie not real fans)were made in the 70's when the football hooliganism raised it's ugly head and look where that ended up. I experienced London as a horrible place to be with gangs wearing the colours of one club (who were playing away elsewhere in the country eg Millwall playing at Manchester) appearing at the ground of a local rival (eg Chelsea)who were playing at home just for a mass fight.

Now I am not saying we are anywhere near that stage yet but if the perpetrators feel there is no deterrent it could soon escalate. We have also seen how the "sheep mentality" of crowds under the influence of drink can behave and "decent" kids can get pulled in.

Someone with more legal knowledge than me might be able to confirm, but I think we have more than enough laws available about drunken behaviour and vandalism etc to lock these idiots up, there is surely enough video evidence to identify culprits. Combined with life bans from the clubs this situation could be nipped in the bud.

It will all depend on whether the RFL and the clubs want to bury their heads in the sand or take firm action.