20/1 when I checked before the game kicked off! I didn't bet on unfortunately, but was confident enough to take the 34+ start giving to Widnes.

Wigan losing 2 points is all well and good, but it won't make a difference to them. They will still be top 4 at the end of the season.

It makes a huge difference at the other end of the table though. Widnes got 2 points today that no one expected them to get, and probably wouldn't have got if Wigan had played their full team. Just a few weeks ago at Cas, Wigan played a full team and set their intentions out from the start and ran riot. Today they rested several key players and were turned over. It's just bloody frustrating.

Castelford bent over though

They bent over and took a right good pounding. Then the week after played like their lives depended on it against leeds (kel suprise!) Maybe if they'd played with the same intensity wigan wouldn't have won even with a full strength team.

So I can see how it's frustrating, if the team bends over one week and then goes all out the next.

But that's got nothing to do with wigans team selection.

Only beat what's in front of you.

Wigan had five players out, Widnes had six out.

We deserved our win regardless of whatever any numpty says.

Well, there's no arguing with that, at least!

Pipe down.

Wigan chose to field a weakened team because presumably they thought widnes would be easy pickings.

That's the issue.

Wigan disrespected you. No ones saying you didn't deserve to win, you had more first teamers out, but that was inforced, not by choice.

People are on your side here.

Leeds rested players against us and people weren't bleating on about disrespect then. Why should it matter what team they put out, you only play what's in front of you and we beat it. End of. We deserved our win no matter what team Wigan fielded.

...........

No club should be fined for utilising and rotating their squad in any way they deem appropriate. These regular round fixtures are just warm-up games for when the Super League competition really begins in September after Round 27.

The top clubs can afford to experiment with weakened teams and risk losing fixtures, safe in the knowledge they will still comfortably qualify in a good play off position.

Perhaps Wigan have studied the current play-off system in more detail and taken note of where Leeds finished in those play-off's last season, along with the benefits of finishing in a better position for a tilt at the title from just outside the Top 4? Finish 5th or 6th and you are rewarded with an easy home game against a team of no-hopers like Hull or Hull KR. The following week you are rewarded with an easier away game against a team which got bruised and smashed by a top 4 team the week before. All you have to do then is peak for an away semi final and a Grand Final on neutral territory and you are SL champions.

Finishing 2nd last year did Wigan no favours at all so today's loss could well prove to be a blessing in disguise for them and perhaps the first piece in a shrewd tactical operation to finish 5th or 6th.

We actually had 9 players out if you include injuries - we just rested 5.

Nothing to do with "disrespect".

Just a decision that backfired on Wane. Badly. Serves him right, and he'll know that.

The real disrespect is by those who attribute Widnes' win solely to Wane's dumb (with hindsight) decision, IMO. The game still had to be won.

Same as ours did against HKR - went into the game with ten of the first team squad injured, two out on season-long loan and two more injured early doors in the match. Yet we won. I suspect for the same sort of reasons that Widnes did.

Bollox to "disrespect" - lets show respect where its due?

As others have said it's not disrespect. If you'd heard Wane's comments before the game he certainly wasn't taking Widnes lightly. He wasn't 'disrespecting' Widnes but putting faith in the players that he picked.

Given that Wigan were 18 points up at one point and only lost by a late drop goal and missed a potential game winning penalty he was certainly right to think that the team he put out was capable of a win. The issue for Wigan wasn't a lack of ability from the players on the field it was the fact that every time we went a couple of tries up our discipline suddenly became dreadful and they were piggy backed up the field with consecutive penalties.
Phil Clarke loves to bang on about how costly back to back penalties can be and Wigan were guilty of that time and time again and were making it much easier for Widnes than it should have been. The players should take the blame for the performance (the senior players as they were letting the team down most) rather than Shaun Wane.

The bottom line for Wigan is that quite a few young players have to step up this year to replace the likes of Carmont, Finch and Leuluai. I'm not sure a steady approach to bringing young players through is going to help too much in the long run, so I don't blame the coach for wanting to find out how the youngsters cope as quickly as possible.

Actually I've since been on and you're right there are some posts which say that. I disagree with them, mind.

Cherry Pie talks sense IMO. And interesting (for an outsider) assessment on what went wrong. On reflection, scratch my comment about it being a dumb decision.

CP - are you a "Simon's Cat" fan too? I've GOT Simon's Cat - although its called Zac.