This whole 'we're better on paper' attitude from Saints fans really shocks me and has for a while tbh. We are a better 'team', who are better coached and Wane does indeed get us more 'up' for these contests but just being revved up for a game won't win you as many as we have. We simply have better players in a lot of positions and as much as that gap has closed this year, it's still not been bridged and is a little way off.

We like yourselves are a team with a raft of improvement in it and it will be interesting to see who progresses the quicker but I'm confident. We have a raft of juniors who will take on all your juniors with the confidence gained from years worth of beatings they've handed out at the junior levels so that's a gap that needs to be bridged.

Looking at a game on paper I see 5 or 6 Saints lads that I'd have in a combined team, looking at the game in real life it's probably not as many as that.

It's easy to say that after winning big in a derby. You're still feeling the chest inflating delusions of grandeur.

You don't have better players in a lot of positions. O'Loughlin is the only Wigan player who is clearly better than the Saints equivalent, Roby, Walmsley, Makinson, Soliola are in their positions. It's how you play that may win you the league this year, not who you have in your team. You'd beat us with most of them missing and replaced by kids, as you've done in the past.

We've beaten them when playing with kids too!

In fact, I'd have played them with kids today in retrospect. We would have had much more enthusiasm and commitment had we done so as was in evidence against Leeds.

Attitude counts for a lot in team sport. Ours was shocking and theirs was good. Hence, they get the 2 points and bragging rights. We get egg on our faces.

In Derby games attitude does count for a lot. It's something we seriously lacked today. I bet the likes of Thompson, Richards, walker, greenwood would have shown more heart, passion and comittment than the so called superstars did today.

My delusions of grandeur are backed up by numerous derby wins on the board, numerous finishes higher in the league then Saints and with a double sitting in the trophy cabinet.

We keep hearing this line trotted out that the ape man just gets us revved up for these derbies yet Saints have the better team on paper. It is absolute tripe!! Desire might nick you the odd game but ultimately class and skill will prevail and it does with Wigan.

The Saints lads you mention there have just been nailed by their opposite number yet again. Roby by McIlorum, Walmsley by Taylor, Makinson by Burgess (first of plenty) and Soliola got ripped a new one by Liam Farrell.

Using this comfort blanket of 'paper rugby' isn't going to get you anywhere at the end of the day. I thought Nathan Brown was very honest in his post match summary of the two teams, certainly more honest then some of the stuff I read on here.

You honestly think that Roby was up against MM, Sia was against Farrell etc ?


I've never known man to man marking in rugby so this Is a first for me.

Just general comparisons between players performances and players that are all regarded as being pretty good ones for both clubs.

I'm not trolling or trying to act smug after a game but surely Wigan must have a collective group of players with more quality then Saints? If one team wins most of the head to heads between the two sides, finishes higher in the league each year and wins trophies on a regular basis whilst the other doesn't win any, I'm surely within my rights to believe there must be more then just a gulf in desire?

It must be the first time in the history of the game were a team beats another in all aspects on such a regular basis yet has worse players. That is basically what's being suggested by a few posters!

Crazy.

But surly you know that players don't mark each other right ?


It just doesn't work like that in rugby. So on your opinion, did lomax rip Bowen "a new one?"


Wigan was just the better team on the day. Simple as that.

No passion at all on display from saints today. I was trying to think what the opposite of intensity was after that game, now I've got to work out what the opposite of passion is too.

Of course but you can compare like for like, position by position and it's not me who initially suggested we've got the better team on paper (even though we do and also on grass).

Wigan were indeed the better team on the day and that is pretty simple. It's also pretty simple to see that Wigan are a better side overall but that doesn't mean it will stay that way.

Lomax was classy with ball in hand as was Bowen. Bowen was safer at the back though

Just strange that you compare Roby to MM and various others. I actually didn't even see MM in the game.

Players can play individually better than their opposite number but it's very rare the likes of hookers and backrows actually mark each other.

Today you was better but at the end of the day it's 2 points. If we win Monday I'll be happy. 2 points from the Easter games is ok, especially when we play 2 local derby games unlike Wigan who play bottom of the league on Monday and a championship side the following week.

We know more the most these weekly rounds count for nowt pretty much and they're basically a dress rehearsal for the real stuff at the end if the year. We've seen both sides if the coin, winning the LLS and flopping and then limping to 4th but being fresh enough to rip through teams in the play offs.

Today will count for nothing come September and Saints have plenty more to give. I respect your club and side hugely but just take the comments about us being weaker on paper with a bemused look on my face.

As for you game on Monday, did you see Widnes today? Truely awful and you shouldn't have a problem.