One thing that seemed apparent pretty much throughout the whole game was the difference in line speed.

In attack....Leeds really ran onto the ball, making good yards... Time after time we just seemed to be passing the ball along a flat static line, getting stuck and not making much ground. This happened for large portions of the game.

In defence... leeds pushed up quickly and got on top of us.... We on the other hand were not our usual selves... there was an awful lot of defending in a stationary line, waiting for the Leeds runner to come to us before making the tackle.... leeds were getting the roll on when they had the ball and seemed to make some very easy cheap yards... This can make a massive difference in a game. This was one of the main reasons we spent the game nowhere near the Leeds line.

And what was that constant infective use of the high ball about? There seemed little point in using that kick when there was absolutely no pressure on the kick receiver. Strange that we didn't change tactics a bit.

All in all the best team won... no arguments at all from me.

what about the empty wing with about 4 mins to go because they were still arguing with Bailey for trying to take mylers head off. chance begging?

Disappointingly this

Sorry! just found the other thread on the bailey / myler incident

What won the Challenge Cup wasn't 'flamboyance' but very well executed plays which Leeds failed to deal with. Some of the plays Wire made that day were as smooth as anything you'll see in the NRL. Leeds defended better in the GF, but wire didn't execute as well either. I really hope wire fans don't blame Briers or anybody else individually - you were very close and on another day could have won.

In any event, I'd say that under Tony Smith I wouldn't worry about the squad ageing etc. IMO he's by far the best technical coach in SL, and easily capable of managing a turnover of personnel and getting wire back to the GF.