Quote: rubber duckie "Coz smith didn't play Hodgson off the bench. Went with 4 forwards. Cooper should had missed out.
No backs
...no plan b'"
For once, I agree entirely with you.... I'm more gutted this year than after last year's loss to Leeds, simply because after that loss there was no 'what ifs' because Leeds fully deserved the win and were the better side.
Now I'm not saying Wigan didn't deserve the win, however, there is a definite stench of 'if only's' and 'what ifs' about tonight's game - The fact was, until Monaghan's injury, Wire were dominating, almost cruising to victory. Wigan were making mistakes, almost crumbling under the pressure of the scoreboard getting away from them.
Soon as Monaghan departed and Wigan almost immediately scored, then it was pretty obvious that Wire had a massive task on their hands... At half time, when we should have been pretty giddy about our prospects, I actually said to my son that we was in big trouble, simply because the whole shape of our side was now badly damaged.
When Ratchford went off, that for me was it....We had 8 forwards on the pitch, the structure of the team was in pieces and Wigan were able to force the pace of the game - The best side did win, but I think most sides in the league would have took that Wire side, with that (lack of) formation apart in the second half.
I'm not saying its a shallow victory for Wigan, but if they had lost Tomkins and Richards in similar circumstances, then I think its obvious the effect that would similarly have had on them and they would have been left thinking what most Wire fans are thinking tonight.