Quote Fatbelly="Fatbelly"A Wigan supporting work colleague last week asked me how I thought the season would pan out. I said that Wire & Wigan would contest both finals & Wigan would win well at Wembley and also win the G/F but by a much smaller margin.
I think our confidence has taken a dent this year, also last year, team's feared us but this year they respect us but don't fear us. Last year if we were 18 points in front like we were against Rovers then the opposing team would have given up expecting a loss but this season they still think we 'can' be beaten.
If we reach both finals & finish 2nd in the league then as a supporter I would consider it an improvement on last season.'"
But in reality that won't be an improvement, last year we were the best team in the league and this year we are not.
Last year after we lost that playoff to Leeds one of the worst things about it was the fear that with an ageing side we were a team that had a window of opportunity to win the Grand Final before a young and up and coming Wigan team overtook us and that last year might have been the best chance. This season is supporting that theory although we have by no means faded away, just the edge has come off us with signs that a few of our players are starting to decline, albeit slowly. Leeds were in this position a couple of years ago, we saw at Wembley the signs of rustiness in their once great team but they did rally for one last hurrah, probably like Chelsea have done in football this year in the Champions League when the league has shown they are in this position, so our best hope may be that the players sense it and in the big games they rise for one last herculean effort. Even for the guys like Hodgson, Morley who have won Grand Finals before down under, they will know that this is the last time in their careers that they are going to be playing for trophies.
I think it will take time for Saints, Leeds and Hull to rebuild to a point where they are challenging Wigan and I think Hudds will slip back when Brown leaves, and Catalans are good but not THAT good, so I think we may be entering a stage where Wigan take pole position and are the premier side in SL for the next two or three years, with us slipping back to a point of best of the rest but behind Wigan. This will especially be shown when Briers leaves as it will be very difficult to replace him, and who we get to fill his place will determine a lot.
That said I would not get too cocky if I was a Wigan fan as there are risks on the downside for them as well. They really need to re-sign Finch, if he leaves then Matty Smith is nowhere near the same calibre of replacement. I also think a Iestyn Harris situation is developing with Sam Tomkins where it's inevitable he will go to union in a year or so, probably the RFU will make their move in 2013 so they can have him in time for the 2015 World Cup, and Wigan will get a large transfer fee as he is still under contract. Wigan are good and have a lot of strength in depth of home grown talent but remove Finch and Tomkins and they will need to sign big (from Australia) to replace them, big as in get someone like Slater or Inglis to join.
