Quote: Dico "What?? Hudds played Leeds after taking an absolute pasting around the paddock from us. Im sure it'd have been a better game at the galpharm in week one than the flat affair that took place in week 2. It's all opinion but I think Hudds were at a disadvantage coming to us in week one as opposed to playing leeds at home'"
Or they could of used the Wire defeat as a serious wake up call, had they faced Leeds in week 1 they could well of put in just as much a poor performance as they did against Warrington. As for the flat affair that took place instead in Week 2, Leeds took a 16-0 lead before being pegged back to 16-12 then surged ahead again to a 34-12 lead before Hudds scored 3 tries in the last 10 mins to get within 6 points @ 34-28, hardly flat was that game.
You could also say Leeds (4th) were at a disadvantage going away to 1st place Wigan in 2010, except they showed up and won. The playoffs format didn't let Huddersfield down they let themselves down (as did Warrington, Wigan, Catalans, Hull & Hull KR), Saints were in that same situation as Hudds (a week 1 away game to a top 2 team) and they reached the Grand Final. Catalans faced the same situation as Leeds but they didn't get 'rewarded'. The real problem with the playoffs is that in the last 4 or 5 years only Leeds, Saints and Wigan have truely gone into the playoffs with the right attitude and belief that they can win it no matter what fixtures they faced, until more teams approach it with the same genuine 'Yes we can win this' frame of mind then it doesn't matter what format the playoffs are.
I've heard a bucket load of complaints since last years GF about how the 8 team playoffs reward mediocre teams, when infact in the first 2 years of its introduction the top 2 teams have gone on to contest the GF ('09 Leeds v Saints....'10 Wigan v Saints) the 1st place team winning both times, so how about until this 'rewarding mediocrity' theory is proven to be more than just a one off can people calm down and stop making out as if its the norm.
Funnily enough i remember when Leeds & Saints contested the '07, '08, '09 Finals after both teams finished in the top 2 spots everytime, that you had fans complaining that it was boring that the top 2 ended up contesting the GF everytime and how they would like to see someone from outside the top 2 reach a GF for a change. Also the Aussies lovers over here who love copying everything they do wanted us to copy them with a top 8 playoffs and people wanted to see other clubs get the oppotunity and experience of playoff rugby instead of the usual same teams.
