Oh Hell's Bells - now I'm plaguing myself again with conspiracy theories....Jeffries sent off for a foul that never was, Seymour excused for a red card offence, Widnes ably assisted to a defeat by tries that shouldn't have been tries and now they move the Salford game to Wakey's advantage. Is there a feeling in anyone else's stomach-pit that it would be just too embarassing to have a team in the play-offs that you intend to demote to the Championship?

Don't forget the try that Silverwood gave us against KR when he thought Dobson got his foot to the ball from the kick off. After all, it's not like Bradford ever get the rub of the green is it? (except at BV this year when Wakey were pulled for a forward pass from a break that had TRY written all over it - only for the ref to visibly wince when he saw it on the big screen and realised it wasn't - or that Wakey ever get robbed like when Halibut cost us the game against wire when they scored the winning try from the seventh tackle of the set). We can all bleat about refs decisions, and we all do, but it does even out over a season (except for Wigan, Wire, Leeds and Saints - you know, the big clubs, remember when you were one?).

As for conspiracy theories - as a Wakey fan I can tell you that the RFL is bent, that Tony Smith practises black magic and that Neil Armstrong NEVER walked on the moon - we are the KINGS of the conspiracy theories!!!

Chicken's coming home to roost for some. After victimising Sykes for 2 years it seems quite ironic that his two late drop goals recently have eliminated us from the play-offs.

If you go into Admin then a points deduction - even if not totally clear how many - is the punishment passed down to the club.

The problem is the collateral damage inflicted on the players and fans. Over the season the players "earned" a place in the play-offs the hard way but like the fans are effectively being punished for the club's poor management.

I guess you didn't watch the Wakefield v Widnes game then when James Child tried his best to give the game to Widnes. We were discussing conspiracy theories at the game.

Let's face it, we all see decisions that go against our club and in Arsene Wenger style don't see the decisions that do go in our favour. It's the nature of being a supporter.


As for the decision to move our game to Saturday and a neutral venue because Salford's ground is not available, that is a complete farce.
The only reason that there should be for moving the game is so that our game and yours kick off at the same time, anything other than that is unfair on one team or the other. If you're not going to play them at the same time then don't move them IMO.

To be honest it just shows how silly the play-offs are as a way of choosing the champions. As a cash generating scheme it's fine, of course but decisions like this which clearly impact on the integrity of the competition just turn it into a joke. The sooner we go back to first past the post the better, then we can have the (more obviously) unimportant premiership, like before.

Not much point in moaning about it, tbh. Wakey are now as good as in and good luck to them.

Paranoid fans seeing the smaller picture.

75% (or near enough) of Rugby League's history has been decided by a play-off system.
The first 6 years and a period between 1973 and 1997 being the exceptions.

This is not saying I agree with it but it's how we've pretty much always done it in RL.

Did we all watch the same game? Widnes were the ones in red yes. You do know that?



Agreed, if they are not kicking off at the same time, then what is the point of moving it?

There is a vast difference between the 'old days' of the Yorks and Lancs leagues with both (supposedly) separate leagues shown all lumped together in one single league table.

A situation where the first and second placed clubs might not only have not played each other all season, they might have played a completely different set of fixtures. Hardly a proper comparison with the current situation, I suggest?

During the latter 'exception' period we had two separate divisions, crucially shown properly, in separate tables, plus the premiership, which was basically the same as the play-offs and stuck in to make up the cash lost by not having the, no longer necessary, championship play off.

RFL and Sky have history in not making teams kick off at same time thus ensuring they know what they need to do - 94 - Warrington, Bradford & Wigan equal on points with 1 game to go - Friday night - Wire beat Sheffield go top, Saturday afternoon - we beat Leeds - go top on PD, Sunday night - Wigan beat Oldham - win league on PD - all live on Sky!!

I dont believe that a team outside the top 4 should win the GF seems ridiculous to me that you could got the season undefeated and brush teams aside like they where paper, but you could lose out in the playoffs due to possibly a dodgy call always seemed to elude me as to why it isnt the top 4 teams in a playoff

I know perfectly well which side was wearing which colour thanks. We did watch the same game but from a different perspective, as I also said

You will obviously have seen decisions that went in Wakefields favour as they did you no favours, whereas I will have noticed more the decisions he gave Widnes (or more correctly the decisions he didn't give to Wakefield) as they were against us.
In the first half there were times when some of the Widnes payers may as well have been given a pillow and a duvet they spent that long lying on and not being penalised.


You talk about conspiracy theories and the ref having a hand in deciding your game by binning Jeffries etc but you got beat by 64 points (SIXTY FOUR!!). That is not down to a couple of dodgy decisions is it, but that's what you remember from the game.


Show me an avid fan of any club that doesn't watch a game involving or affecting their team with rose-tinted glasses on, there are very few of them around.

So you think Wigan could be clear of the 4th placed club by 8-10 points and then lose out to a dodgy decision in a playoff game and that would be OK, but for them to lose out to a team that finished 5th on same points as 4th is ridiculous.

Good argument!

Touche never though of a PD tie.

But i still think the top 4 teams who should be the best in the league irrelevant of PD should have the chance to make the GF the top 8 allows a team with possibly more losses than wins to have a chance to compete for the GF if you see what i am saying, failing that cant we just go back to the top 6 was always more exciting than what they have changed it to