Thought I'd leave that to you this time around.

It might make a pleasant change from your tiresome reverse woof offerings.

The club threw everything ito the CC this year and it showed as soon as the CC campaign began

Leigh must have been bloody brilliant in the QF then.

No they haven't in SL competition but they have beaten both Cas and Wire in knockout rugby in recent weeks. The playoff games are more often played in that pattern than regular season games.

The points thing, well yes we don't score loads that is clear. But again the pattern of those knockout games doesn't equate to needing to score plenty of points. We scored 4 tries to 3 in 2008 GF, likewise in 2012. The GF's of 2004 (2 tries after being a points machine for the year), 2009 (3 tries). Cut to the games in the CC this year when all on the line, 4 tries vs both Cas and Wire and 5 vs Saints......we won all games by at least a 2 score advantage.

2011 Warrington were a similar points machine to the 2004 Leeds side......we went there and matched them 4 tries apiece. We went to Wigan in the 2012 playoffs and won by only scoring 13 points and 1 try.

Look at all the games we've played vs Saints/Wigan/Wire/Cas/Hudds this year then the points have gone....

Vs Saints 54-39
Vs Wigan 48-51
Vs Wire 48-52
Vs Cas 69-48
Vs Hudds 34-36

Total = 253-226

Better indicator than the fact we didn't wallop the "whipping boys" by the same big scorelines as some of the other did to bump up our Points For column. We don't have loads of points in us, but we do have enough to possibly beat our challengers in the playoffs.

Correct, and finishing 6th could well be an easier route than from 5th this season given who is finishing top.

I'm sure that the team would prefer to be top four but under the present format it's not essential. We have as good a chance of getting to OT as any of the other top 6 imo.
I think this season has been much closer at the top and although this maybe our lowest finish for years it doesn't reflect how well we have competed with the other top sides. Indeed we could finish closer to the top team on points than we have done since 09, only 4points if we were to win next week and Saints lose. If we had gone out of the CC in April im sure we would have been top 2 now. Winning the cup was a price worth paying for a slightly more difficult route to OT.

So long as Wigan and Wire are kept apart in the first round, we will walk to the semi final.

Home to .. Catalan? Away at Cas? Yes please. Stop worrying, we'll walk the double this year.

If Cas and Hudds win like you'd expect tomorrow then the table looks like, with us being confirmed for 6th

Saints - 38
Cas - 36
Wigan - 35
Wire - 35
Hudds - 35

I'll go for next weekend Hudds to beat Saints, Wire to beat Wigan, Cas to beat Catalans

So a finish of IMO

Cas
Saints
Wire
Hudds
Wigan

Think Widnes with get 7th so them first up for us.

wigan finishing 5th would definitly be better for us, means we are guaranteed to avoid them in the final semi should we get that far.

It would be better for Leeds to face Wigan in the semi final rather than the final surely?

I never said it was easy .the league games they played almost a complete 2nd choice team and lost because of the CC games coming up and lost.The cup games against Saints and Wire were among the best performances

Well part of the reason the team got this Wembley fever thing straight after beating Saints is because they knew their opponents were lower league (admittedly the best of them) in the next round. They'll have definitely been a case of already thinking they'll make the semis in their heads, it almost tripped them up.

They lost in that game last season.

They've never beaten Wigan in any final.

NOT EVER.

They had a terrible record against wigan in knock out games full stop, but then they started beating them in semi finals 04, 07, 08, 12 x 2

Exactly.

Leeds record in semi finals against Wigan is a lot healthier than their record against Wigan in finals.

Conclusion? Wigan in the semis please.

Which finals have they met Wigan in during the last decade then? 1 isn't it?

Haven't played them at Old Trafford since we developed a knack of winning there though.

The 2 teams who have shared the last 7 GF's yet haven't met in any of them, it'd be the most intriguing final IMO. If they could beat us there then they'd take that kind of unofficial "Old Trafford specialists" tag off of us.

Or we could have Saints vs Wire, losers of the last 7 GF's between them......see which one could finally stumble over the finishing line on the night.

Leeds have never beaten Wigan in a final of any sort.

Even when they did meet Wigan in a final during their most Glorious Golden Era, they still lost.

No amount of silverware won during the most lamentable era of SL mediocrity can compensate for that glaring omission.

doesn't matter who you beat in a final it's winning that counts

Been a bit hard to try beat them in a GF during this Golden Era seen as since 2004, we've met them in the semis 6 times (4-2 to Leeds), 2 years Wigan didn't make the playoffs (2005,2006) and the only two times we were kept apart in the semis (2009 & 2011) Leeds reached the GF whilst Wigan lost.

Maybe if Eric Pollard hadn't uttered those words "we choose Leeds" in 2012 and sent us to St.Helens instead then Leeds vs Wigan GF might've happened during this era.....still worked out well for them that year

Indeed, but a win in a final against Wigan would be sweeter than most would it not?

I assume it's Leeds regular season policy of demonstrating that "winning does not count" which was mainly responsible for your loss of patronage and the termination of your season ticket?

I have to agree with old Willy here. The one regret through this era I have is not playing Wigan in a GF. Each time I was hoping it would go that way.

Just a shame it never came off.

The majority of final defeats came in the mid to late 90's with a completly different team, so it's a meaingless statistic. In 2011 leeds were unlucky not to win. How relevant would leeds record against saints at old trafford be in 15 years when the 2 teams are totally different?

I see what you're saying, but I'm pretty certain wigan will make the grand final again this year so if we play them before old trafford to my mind it means we aint gonna make it.

If we are to ever taste sweet victory against them on the big stage then we need to play them in the final and now is as good a time as any whilst we still have this group of players.

sweeter? possibly but as i said winning is everything. i didn't get a season ticket as i felt that A- i missed to many games for it to be worthwhile and B- i wasn't getting value for money