got a 1 match ban and a £300 fine.was to be totally expected no doubt the pie munchers will be a bit miffed

That makes Wigan's job a lot easier

wigan must be breathing a sigh of relief. last few days the only thing spoken about is getting him banned. sounds like some bottoms was twitching at latics stadium

he will appeal wont he?

He would be stupid to appeal, he's got away with it there.

But it does probably mean Wigan are the first name in the final. I can't see Leeds beating them with Burrow starting in the halves.

Leeds ran us close in the Cup final without Mcguire - I believe they had Sinfield and Stevie Ward in the halves, with Burrow still at hooker. They'll struggle now, but you can't write anyone off at this stage.

I wouldn't say they ran us close at all, it was quite a one sided encounter. Ward will be a great player, but I don't think he's a half and was anonymous at Wembley. If McGuire had played it might have been a lot closer.

Wigan might be unhappy on the surface that he didn't get a 3 match ban similar to McIlorum's, but they also know that if lose on Friday then a returning Danny McGuire would significantly improve Leeds' chances of beating one of their two main rivals in the final.

I'm struggling to see how Leeds will beat Wigan without their main creative threat. I'll happily be proved wrong though Mr Sinfield.

I don't know, I reckon the panic might have set in if that try at the start of the 2nd half had been given - it certainly put the Leeds players' heads down, anyway. It definitely would have been closer if he'd played though, yes.

People seem to be forgetting that only a few weeks ago Wigan limped over the line to take the hubcap. Wigan will, quite rightly, start their game as favourites, but I wouldn't write Leeds off, even without Maguire.

McDermott has kicked off in the Guardian about Wane. I'd pay to see them two scrap on Friday night.

only one winner there for 2 reasons..mcdermott was a boxer in his younger years..and with the size of the pair of them mcdermott has a lot more to hit than wane

... and McDermott was in the marines, probably safe to assume it wasn't the catering section either. Would not want to be on the wrong side of that bloke.

McDermott was right to moan about Wane's comments. The McGuire situation was nothing to do with him and he did appear to be trying to influence the RFL Judiciary.

10 seconds after they start, guarantee Ablett would rush in and throw a sneaky dig at whoever's losing.