I certainly don't think the views of a few pundits will act as a major motivating factor for the Leeds players, they have enough reason too go on and win it as it is. If an opposition player had written us off then maybe, but as you say, that's a pundits job.

Meh! Phil Clarke declared after 8 minutes of the Saints game that they would win because of 'their better skill and better passing'. They didn't. You'd think he'd get tired of being wrong.

Phil Clarke is a supreme athelete. He never gets tired.

I agree with both your points. It seemed to me that O'L passed towards the camera which was positioned well in front of the the winger who was not in shot so it looked a good metre forward.

Richards is a class finisher and goal kicker and is one of the best in SL at catching a high kick and staying out of touch to score.

Last night the results of the new coaching set up at Wigan were evident. A key area in their success this season is their technique. Their defence goes in mob handed including leg tacklers with clear plan to stop and turn the attacker on his back quickly to slow the PTB without getting on the wrong side of the ref. Other teams all try to do this but without the clinical regularity of Wigan and more often than not incur a penalty.

While on attack themselves they go into the tackle with clear objective not be turned on their backs and if possible get knees and hands in position to get on their feet quickly. Several of their players regulary take a big step forward, illegally off the mark, when playing the ball to give another advantage. (Fielden, Sean O'Penalty, Joel Tomkins and Richards)

They also use the dummy runner to great effect (illegally in many instances IMO) and attack with a deeper line.

They are playing with great confidence and for each other so we will need to be at our best next week. Our game plan must include putting their kickers under pressure and being ready the kick for Richards. We should also not give possession away and overwork our defence with bad discipline.

It's goint to be a tough game for us with the CC semi so close. Having said that if we had taken the points against HKR and especially the Crusaders, we could have not taken this game so seriously as we would be well in the top 4 (although you then have to think that we would have been in with a strong shout for top 2).
Last year we had Saints around this time at home and it was a belter, a full on war. For me, we part won the GF that day and planted a huge psychological foot on Saints faces. This time we get Wigan, who look the team to beat this year, but our league position and the CC semi change the meaning of this game because it doesn't mean [ithat[/i much to us at the moment. We played Wigan at their place with no team earlier in the year, we beat them in the cup when we had a decent side out, and now we have the CC semi to consider. Difficult to see how the coaches pitch this to the players when getting them mentally ready. What you can be sure of is that Wigan have nothing else to think of other than stuffing us. We are the main contenders, whatever the glove puppets on Sky say, everyone is waiting for us to fire in the playoffs now we have some bodies back. Wigan will want to score more than just competition points.

However saints have the same problem as I think they play Warrington away next week with a day less to prepare for the semi!

They do have a possible problem in front of them next weekend, and it will be very interesting to see how they approach this Derby game against Warrington

Will Saints possibly fancy pinching the 2nd place in the table and a home game in the play-offs, which could be acheived by them beating the Wolves next weekend

Or will they simply settle for the highest place available after a below par defeat to the Wolves in the hope that they can peak the week after in the CC semi?

But he didn't realise that we would lose both our halfbacks and one of our forwards during the match, did he? And we were playing better than you, in fact we were beating you until Pryce went off, and we lost by very little given that we were down to the bare bones with no interchanges for the last fifteen. I'd like to see what would happen to Leeds under those circumstances!

It is highly unlikely that we will pinch second place. For us to do that, we would need to win all our remaining matches and Wire lose at least two of theirs. That isn't going to happen. Saints have yet to string together more than a run of four wins. And our home form is no better than our away form, so playing at home would actually be no advantage to us.


I think we may well try to hold on to third spot. Keiron Cunningham will want to win the CC semi but how committed everyone else will be is anyone's guess.

i think the key phrase is AFTER 8 MINUTES. that is idiocy of the highest degree.

and,like you, we have been decimated by injury. at shudds we had watkins stretchered off after 10 minutes, webb and hall hobbling on the wing,jjb in the centre and senior at full back.
it happens, get over it

we havent hit top gear at any moment this season yet

Blah blah blah, excuse + excuse + excuse.


You lost – now get over it and stop being so bitter.

christ, he's a bit unusal for a Saints fan


he hasn't blamed Mick Potter

Lawrie, surely this season you had 'Great Expectations'?

clever