Re: Super 8s

No straw damn us · Post by **No straw damn us** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:25 pm

curryman wrote:I cannot see us reaching OT either, Leeds and Stains seem way ahead. Except....

We do seem to play better against the top teams and in the knock out phases.

I keep thinking back to Brisbane Broncos game. Ignore the stupid golden point bit, after 80 minutes we drew with them and they are top of the ladder in the NRL so far this season.

But then we lose at Wakefield.

We've beaten Leeds twice already this season, but we've lost at Salford and KR.

Ultimately we should win four more home games, so should make the semi finals. Then its one more occasion to rise to and we're in the GF again.

We didn't lose at Wakefield. I guess that the irratating points dropped were at Widnes and HKR where we threw away good leads, those three points would probably have been enough to finish top.

josie andrews · Post by **josie andrews** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:23 pm

Why is it the Super 8?

IMO it's no different than when we had the Top 8 there's still more in the top than below it. We reward mediocrity all the time in this sport!

Apart from Widnes & HKR, Wakefield & I'm sorry to say Salford have very little chance in their prospective matches. I would think Leigh & Bradford are the two clubs that could be promoted.

With the RFL messing about with this sport all the time, and our management more interested in London & the business club than the actual game, team, players & fans. I am fast losing interest & becoming fed up with it & it kills me to say it after following Wigan for well over 50 years????????

Then we have Sky! Treating this great sport with contempt, paying less for it for X number of years than a blasted football player gets paid for the same length of time or in some cases less time & disregarding the fans completely. I can see the TV coverage of our sport being available only on the Sky Internet App ????

The idiots who report on our game just show how ridiculous they really are when they regard & accept being moved from a studio to Sky's bloody canteen as worthy of our sport to present its weekly news show!

Sorry about the rant, & also if I've not explained myself properly but I'm sure you all get the gist of what I mean & how I feel ????

sc74 · Post by **sc74** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:31 pm

curryman wrote:
I keep thinking back to Brisbane Broncos game. Ignore the stupid golden point bit, after 80 minutes we drew with them and they are top of the ladder in the NRL so far this season.

I would pay little credance at all to the BB game. They turned up with the smallest squad they could, got it over with and flew back home as quick as they could.
It was little more than a pre-season friendly.
If we were to play them with them giving 100%, it would be worse than embarassing.
Said it before, out top 4 should play their bottom 4.

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:00 pm

josie andrews wrote: With the RFL messing about with this sport all the time, and our management more interested in London & the business club than the actual game, team, players & fans. I am fast losing interest & becoming fed up with it & it kills me to say it after following Wigan for well over 50 years????????

Sorry about the rant, & also if I've not explained myself properly but I'm sure you all get the gist of what I mean & how I feel ????

I certainly do and in particular with the point I quoted above.

When someone such as yourself comes out with this it's not good.

In particular I can sense you are as frustrated as I am about the attention the "business club" is getting and feel it is a huge distraction.

I posted elsewhere IL spent virtually his entire program notes going on about it with two small paragraphs about the Wire game and the team recently.

I have never been a fan of the playoffs but the best format we ever had was the top five. Very hard to win it from anywhere but 1 or 2.

As it is despite our quite frankly rubbish form away because we get four home games we could be in the semi's and if we are and if we get to the GF that will be more than enough for some.

The things is all that means is the format masks mediocrity. If we get to the GF this year having played the way we have it is NOT an endorsement of the team or the coach. It will show the format to be flawed.

Quite frankly we should not be in with a chance.

Mind you it's been the same for long time now in that teams who have had a poor season for whatever reason get another crack.

When Bradford won it from third, the first team to do so outside the top two, Leeds and Saints were hit with injuries so it seemed obvious to me Bradford who themselves got players back from injury were favourites. Wish I was a betting man as I was proved right and I am sure the odds would have been good.

In my opinion the title should be given to the team that finishes top and if we really must have a play off then play off for the right to represent the league in the World club championship.

curryman · Post by **curryman** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:31 pm

"We didn't lose at Wakefield. I guess that the irratating points dropped were at Widnes and HKR where we threw away good leads, those three points would probably have been enough to finish top."

sorry you are right, we lost there last season. that's what galloping senility does to you (ie me)

curryman · Post by **curryman** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:47 pm

DaveO wrote:
josie andrews wrote: With the RFL messing about with this sport all the time, and our management more interested in London & the business club than the actual game, team, players & fans. I am fast losing interest & becoming fed up with it & it kills me to say it after following Wigan for well over 50 years????????

Sorry about the rant, & also if I've not explained myself properly but I'm sure you all get the gist of what I mean & how I feel ????
In my opinion the title should be given to the team that finishes top and if we really must have a play off then play off for the right to represent the league in the World club championship.

I've been following Wigan since 1965 and I am also rapidly losing the will to keep following them for all of the reasons Josie stated so eloquently. I'd just add on top of all that, when the season ends the marketing kicks in and they hound you to the point where it feels like stalking until you renew your season ticket. They never tell you things like games will be moved to a Thursday, or to London, they just want your money ASAP.

This season has been the first where I have thought I cannot be bothered and missed games. Against Widnes, I looked at the empty ground, then heard the attendance they claimed and concluded there are more like me who have a season ticket but don't go to games and then get counted as part of the attendance because their seat was sold.

As far as the play offs are concerned I've said since the day Sky rejigged it that the whole structure was stupid. The champions should be the team that is top of the table after everyone has played everyone else (home and away). Then, if they want a play off competition at the end of the season, that should be separate and structured along the old lines of 1st v 8th, 2nd v 7th and so on. That used to work brilliantly well. No club call, no second chances, straight forward knock out, what was wrong with that?

Wiganer Ted · Post by **Wiganer Ted** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:36 pm

The Super Eights still seems like a play off series only we don't have to pay again.
BTW this game in London, will season ticket holders have to pay to get in? As Josie said, why go to London and take a game away from the DW when we are so dreadful away from home? Has IL been to an away game this year?If so why would he want a game in London to impress people if we play like we did at Wire, HKR, Cas, Cats etc.

I'll renew my season ticket.
It's SKY I might ditch. Their Thursday games mean that most if not all clubs next year will have Friday as their game day. So that means if I watch Wigan then I'll only see one SKY match a week. I'm not paying over £50pm for that. The rest is dross. Boots n A is awful. SL Fulltime is truncated and the SLShow on the beeb is far better.

We have the most talented squad really but they are playing like they don't want to know. Especially away from home. At the DW I think they are playing for themselves and their fans.
Something's going on though when they aren't replacing Deacs. Now we read that SW says Rads will decide whether Thornley stays or goes. Tierney can play wing and full back and there's no one out there better. In other words it appears, rightly or wrongly, SW isn't involved in recruitment anymore.

IMO it looks like it could be Shaun Wane for England and a new coach for Wigan.

sc74 · Post by **sc74** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 8:39 pm

Wiganer Ted wrote: IMO it looks like it could be Shaun Wane for England and a new coach for Wigan.

:inlo: :inlo: :inlo:

josie andrews · Post by **josie andrews** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 11:06 pm

Wiganer Ted wrote:The Super Eights still seems like a play off series only we don't have to pay again.
BTW this game in London, will season ticket holders have to pay to get in? As Josie said, why go to London and take a game away from the DW when we
are so dreadful away from home? Has IL been to an away game this year?If so why would he want a game in London to impress people if we play like we did at Wire, HKR, Cas, Cats etc.

I'll renew my season ticket.
It's SKY I might ditch. Their Thursday games mean that most if not all clubs next year will have Friday as their game day. So that means if I watch Wigan then I'll only see one SKY match a week. I'm not paying over £50pm for that. The rest is dross. Boots n A is awful. SL Fulltime is truncated and the SLShow on the beeb is far better.

We have the most talented squad really but they are playing like they don't want to know. Especially away from home. At the DW I think they are playing for themselves and their fans.
Something's going on though when they aren't replacing Deacs. Now we read that SW says Rads will decide whether Thornley stays or goes. Tierney can play wing and full back and there's no one out there better. In other words it appears, rightly or wrongly, SW isn't involved in recruitment anymore.

IMO it looks like it could be Shaun Wane for England and a new coach for Wigan.

I have said this for the past 18 months. Rads does the contracts & decides who gets paid what.

I have to be careful about what I really want to say or I'll be getting phone calls again!

josie andrews · Post by **josie andrews** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 11:39 pm

Shaun Wane: Wigan Warriors coach says new format 'suits' team

Wigan Warriors head coach Shaun Wane believes Super League's new structure could benefit his side as they bid to reach a third consecutive Grand Final.

Wigan are third in Super League with one game to play before the top two tiers split into three groups of eight.

The top eight teams will play each other once, with the top four reaching the play-off semi-finals.

"To be honest, it suits us because we seem to play well under pressure," Wane told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"When there's a chance we're going to get beat, in the games which we should be winning, we seem to struggle and come up with a scratchy performance."

Wane, now in his fourth season as Wigan's head coach, believes the new league structure has proved to be a success thus far.

"The concept has worked, I think," he added. "The RFL (Rugby Football League) wanted to make it more exciting and I think it's definitely done that.

"There's not been many games where you can guarantee who's going to win it, which has been very exciting for the fans."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/33598779