A top 5 has now been slightly established for this season but which of those most worries you? Which one do you leat want to play come play-off time? Which one will most likely take your title away? Maybe none of them worry you?

Wigan - Top of the league, best team (so far) this season. Scoring points for fun and playing some great stuff. May come and bite you on the bum for that result in the CC

Wire - At full strength an amazing team on paper. Current CC holders. Very organised under your ex coach.

Saints - May want revenger for tha last few years. Players coming back at the end of the year.

Hull - Underdogs, they have some great players and are finding some form. Tricky game as it could be an away game in the play-offs which would be very tough if they have a full team out.

Personally from a Wigan point of view I am just as worried about Leeds come play-off time as anyone else, even if they finish ouitside of the top 4. Your play-off record away from home is shocking and ours is great but you could pull a result out of anywhere.

I think this could be the most exciting play-off series ever with the 5 biggest clubs all at the top of the league.

Wigan, Warrington and Saints bound to stick in the top four. However its Hull that worries me from us entering the top four. If they can stay as consistent as the others then Leeds will finish fifth.

Then again the play offs is a long time away.

I suppose the biggest threat is still St Helens come play off time as our game against them earlier in the season proved when they beat us like 40 to something?

As good as Wigan have been i still think there's plenty more to come from us and Saints whereas Wigan have performed to their peak imo.
Hull are no threat imo and Wire are much improved but yet to put a top team away.
Going on the last 3 years we fear no-one but it adds to the challenge and i still think we can finish top 3.
The big test for the Pies and the rest is to do the buisness in the play-offs it's all well and good having a big regular season but the play-offs step up in intensity and for all the "nearly" performances you've had in the final eliminator you've still failed to step up and take that next step whereas Saints and ourselves have been there seen it and done it.
It's gonna be interesting come September but i'm still confident of a Rhinos V Saints GF.

As a Wigan fan watching week in week out we certainly have not hit our peak.

You only have to look at the record of the top two sides in the play-offs to realise it's not going to be a saints v leeds final again.

We have always run out of steam in the play-offs because we finish low down and end up playing our 3rd tough game in 3 weeks usually away from home against top opposition. This year we should finish top and hopefully have a weeks rest and be playing at home. We do have the best play-off record of any team though.

We'll have to agree to disagree i'm more than confident in this squad and the last 3 yrs back it up.
I also think Saints are also a different animal come play off time and like ourselves their record backs that up.
You've every right to be confident but there's a long way to go and i personally know how many times we've been written off in the past from wherever we've finished only to up the gears and do the buisness.

So when you started the thread off, you were not really asking us who we saw as a threat? you were urging us to say Wigan?

The fact that somebody said they don't really then gets you all defensive.

Hint for the future. If you don't mean to ask for an opinion, don't put it that way. If you really want someone to tell you what you want to hear, then go post it on your own board.

Thats my point, your record doesn't back that up. Check the VT stats from Bilko.

Not at all.

He posted his opinion and I disagree with the REASONS he gave, so I posted my opinion back.

Our record over the last 3 yrs is 3GF's = 3 Times winners.
I'd say that more than backs up my confidence in this squad wouldn't you?

Yes, and by that reckoning only Leeds and Wigan would win the Challenge cup every year, wouldn't they?

Records from 10 years ago mean feck all to us. We judge our team on the success it's been having. The fact that pre 2003 we were always away from home in the play offs means nothing now.

This team is quite capable of winning away from home, the teams pre 2002 generally wasn't.

Who knows, it's going to be very hard for us to make it 4 in a row with the start we have had and Wigan & Wire have finally started showing some of their potential this year.

To be honest I'm not going to be too upset if we don't win it, taking anything away from a squad that has won 3 in a row in the salary cap age would be very harsh.

Mind you this does smack as a "look at us" thread.

The thing is that this current squad has just won 3 titles in a row so I'm sure they are capable of maybe winning a game away from home, the dreadful away record consist's mainly of pre '04 games with a squad that didn't have a patch on this one.

We lost at home to both Quinns & Salford in consecutive games before going on to win the GF last year.

The record for away play-off results is irrellevant to this squad though so again i'm still confident.
We'll see come play off time and i've no concerns about playing away from home.
The league results mean absolutely jack in the play-offs don't get me wrong the games will be tough and intense but i know this squad is capable.

if i had to pick a team i'd say wigan because we struggle to break them down more than any other team.