The last minute try was a direct result of a poor kick followed by a silly ball steal. It's those two little things that allowed Saints to be in the position they were with one minute remaining. Two schoolboy mistakes that a team hoping to go to Old Trafford and win the big prize can't afford to make again. I'm sure that is Burgess' bigger gripe with the situation.

I actually wonder if our relatively easy run of games did us no favours? To suddenly rise to a game of that intensity can’t be easy. Saints had had a dry run against Leigh. Likewise Leigh v Salford. The curse of playing a second team coming back to haunt them.
By the way have I ever mentioned how much I hate it when we score really early?

everyone around me all said, i dont like we scored early, especially like that, it was too easy

Full match is now up on catch up on sky sports for those wanting to see it all back

I'd rather we score first, than not, but it's not the end of the world. We need to build momentum and try and boss a game by winning the arm wrestle and making as few errors as we can. That's something that we didn't really achieve against Saints for long enough periods, if we can control what we do and what HKR do, on Friday, that should go a long way to getting to OT.

This seems a common problem, and not just for us. I've always thought scoring an easy try early psychologically sets players up for a period of complacency. Really happy that we woke up after 35 minutes.

I get the argument that it was a great win, and that saints teams of old have played poorly and beat us, so it’s our turn to indulge in that, but I wholeheartedly disagree.

That Saints team, bar Percival and Makinson, are either finished, horrendously out of form or actually just not very good. I know it’s antagonistic and a but crass, but there are (at least)three teams a complete cut above this year on all measures. While I’m glad we got the win, we should have dispatched them by 50 minutes, but weren’t sharp with the ball, lost the ruck and couldn’t kick.

We have to start thinking like winners, thinking that it’s completely within our power that if we do our jobs we will win.

I think the general consensus though, is that we were off-form and still stayed in the fight. We rarely have several off-form games in a row, so if we scraped through this one we'll hopefully step up a level for the next two. The thing I love about this Burgess team is that we're never out of a game.

You're right though, we won't get away with that should we get to face Wigan in the final. The players and Burgess seemed to already know that when interviewed at the end of the game.

Just watched it back again. The dark arts at play would have embarrassed Voldemort and Grindelwald combined, it did not help that Moore allowed them to get away with it the ruck speed was horrible. Welsby should have gone in the bin for 2nd grab on Dufty when he made that break and when Williams put King in for his 2nd try he got cut in half by Lomax and could not make out the other player. Williams stayed down after that hit and looked sore when he got up and walked away. It was the atmosphere that made that game a great spectacle for TV. I know I’ve already mentioned this one once but still confused why Moore who had the perfect spot to watch the drop goal then decided to look at his linesmen before blowing his whistle.

Karetaker. You are absolutely right. Yep the intensity of that game will stand us in good stead but we were taught a valuable lesson on Sat night. The lesson that Saints taught us is what you can get away with in a play off game. The reason so few teams have won the grand final is that yes they are very good teams but they learn those tricks. They know they can stay on in a tackle for another half a second and not suffer a set restart. They know they can get off their line that little bit quicker without conceding a penalty. From memory we had two incorrect play the balls on Sat and against Leigh a few weeks ago we had the same thing 3 or 4 times because we were trying to speed up the PTB after the officials have started to officiate the game in play off mode.
We won the game whilst being given a lesson. We just need to make sure we take that information and use it to be a bit smarter

It is a lot easier watching the game second time round.
My thoughts are that we were probably better than I had thought. To come back from 12 points behind is some achievement & that we may not have another gear ... which some on here keep suggesting. Saints hit us hard in the first half but we recovered.
2. Williams was on fire and it's a good job he was. He might not be as effective vs. Hull KR & we need to have more attacking options.
3. Concerned about how much pressure is put on our full back with high kicks whereas their back three had it pretty easy. Didn't like to see Dufty clutching his knee.
4. I'd take a take an early score every match.

It would be interesting to hear big Sam's thoughts after he's watched the game a few times.

see my notes elsewhere on this

Hmm, can't quite make out if the comments to my post are all being sarcastic or not but in a nut shell if that's how you want to put it then yes!

However that is not what I was getting at, and before I go on, I was actually rooting for you in the game as I think you deserved to be in the mix much more than Saints, so I am not having a pop at you as a team.

Mistakes happen in every game, players pass behind players, players drop the ball etc. it will happen in every game no matter how good a team you are, I was merely pointing out that two of the Saints tries and especially their last try came from nothing plays, there were not elusive dummy runners dragging players in field and holding up defenders (or from what I remember) the minute they played the ball on the right edge you could see them going in at the left corner with the way the defenders did not make a conscious effort to slide across, it just looked all far too easy, I am just saying it is those little effort areas that coaches go on about that turn good teams into silverwear winning teams.

He has to check with the linesman that no defending player was 'blocked' from getting to Williams to charge the drop goal down, there was never a doubt that it went through the sticks, it was more if the play was clean leading up to the final kick and that the kick was taken cleanly

One thing you can't throw at this team sir is lack of effort - we also finished with a better points for and against than your beloved side. Have a word with Peet as teams have obviously been scoring with more ease against Wigan than Wire this season.