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I think the problem the press have is that no one gave us a snowballs chance In hell, so they're determined to undermine the achievement.

Kittwazzer wrote:

cpwigan wrote:H had not intent bar making the tackle. I was just awkward that he was coming from a different direction to the other Wigan tackler.

Players come off injured in every match.

Good point. If you are going to have the Champions (that is us by the way ) decided by a knock out system with a final then bad luck with injuries, ref decisions (such as not sending Westwood off had we lost) etc is going to affect the way the game goes.

I didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all, & as already been said H, or any of our players for that matter are dirty players.

DaveO wrote:I am referring to the tackle in which Ratchford ended up injured.

Just read the Guardian on-line write up of the game and it focuses far too much on both the Westwood and that incident with Hansen more or less being cited as deliberately trying to injure the player.

What are peoples views on this?

I felt there was nothing wrong with it. The tackle was not complete and the player was still standing and fr as long as can remember its just normal for one player to go high and another low to take the tackled player down.

I don't read The Guardian but I assume it reads along these lines:

Tony Smith, though, called for more protection of players after the tackle that left Ratchford with damage to ligaments in both ankles.
"We don't protect players enough," Smith told BBC Sport. "That style of tackle is tolerated. We only tap people on the wrist. It's sad a player can be injured from it."

Players need more protection from thugs and cheap shots is how this coach (who some thought prior to the play-offs a "great" coach) describes the incident. He must go to the same opticians as Arsene Wenger - never seeing his own players indiscretions - only his opponents

Hate Tony Smith with a passion. He used thug tactics when he first arrived at Huddersfield, continued them at Leeds and continues with them at the Wire. He's a bad loser and without an almost limitless squad supplied by an owner prepared to break the Salary Cap wouldn't be able to coach a team into the top eight never mind make a final - RANT OVER!

I think there are very very few players who actually go out to try and injure an opponent and take them out of the game. There's probably less than half a dozen in the entire league. H is certainly not one of them. It was pure misfortune that Ratchford was injured. the first impact is with Ratchfords lower back / bum / thigh, then H just slid down and ended up lower down the leg. On another day, Ratchfords foot wouldn't have stayed planted to the spot and his leg wouldn't have folded under him. Far too much is being made of this, by fans of a lot of clubs.

I admit that it was probably a game changer, but by that point, we were on fire and I honestly think we'd have won anyway. We gifted Wire their 3 tries off the back of silly penalties / mistakes. Their forwards were beating ours in the collision, for a large part of the first half, but I thought we more than matched them for the majority of the game as a whole. Every time we put a move on we were creating an overlap. It was only Goulding's decision making in the first half that prevented us from going in at half time in the lead. He more than made up for it in the second half though.

Didn't see anything wrong with HH tackle.Conversely Westwood's tackle was premeditated of that I have no doubt. If carried out on the street it would certainly constitute GBH,locked up and key thrown awat. I'll be interested to see what punishment the RFL dish out. Banned Sine Die would be my verdict. The game is tough enough without this cowardly thuggery seemingly receiving tacit support in some quarters.PS. thought MM's try was turning point contry to Sutty's view re Ratchford

Hansen's tackle wasn't nice but it wasn't a deliberate attempt to hurt Ratchford. I think there was an element of over exhuberance that caused him to be a little out of control so he just edged off the hip and towards the joints. It wasn't helped by the way Ratchford was falling as this can have a big say in this type of collision in our game.

Sky guys were sort of suggesting the tackle lacked control and I'd probably go along with that, but he was just trying to stop a dangerous player on that play, not take him out of the game completely. He maybe should have attacked the players legs more slowly as he was already held up high, but when you're the top tackler in the game and haven't missed one you might be excused for not being perfect on one attempt I would say.

I would also point out that we lost Pat Richards in the 2010 Grand Final when he was the Man of Steel and we still went on to win. Injuries aren't a legitmate excuse, we don't know what would ahve happened, we could still have dominated the second half and scored enought o win, I see no reason to suggest with any sense of certainty that we wouldn't.

I've watched the Ratchford incident a few times since, and can't really see a problem with it. H actually tackles Ratchford about waist/hip high and it's the way Ratchford crumbles in the tackle that causes the problem. As for Westwood, it was a cheap nasty shot that, to be honest, if it had been in any other game, probably would have seen a red card. As always officials bottle it and put it on report. I was sat right behind the incident, and it was Pat Richards who actually pointed out to the touch judge, Robert Hicks, what had happened. He didn't even raise his flag. Surely when a player gets a bad eye injury as Green did, the video ref should be used to see exactly what has gone on. Injuries like that don't just happen in a normal tackle. Will be interesting to see what action the RFL take.

Ratchford had already been exposed defensively a few times before he went off injured, and had made a number of errors going forward (the forward-pass for example). Don't think it was as much of a turning point in the game as is being made out by the pro-Warrington media.

DaveO wrote:

Kittwazzer wrote:

cpwigan wrote:H had not intent bar making the tackle. I was just awkward that he was coming from a different direction to the other Wigan tackler.

Players come off injured in every match.

Good point. If you are going to have the Champions (that is us by the way ) decided by a knock out system with a final then bad luck with injuries, ref decisions (such as not sending Westwood off had we lost) etc is going to affect the way the game goes.

Injuries occur in every game, Warrington selected 17 players and decided to go with a bench of forwards. Grix slotted into the threequarters as he has done on several occasions, what's the drama? Goulding left the field at Wembley and Faz then took his position yet Wigan still won. Coaches should prepare for the unexpected and if they don't then more fool them!

By the way, Wigan would still have won even if they had stayed on, after 60 minutes Wire were spent!