Not easy to tell at this stage. Plenty of sides have looked unbeatable at times then embarrassed themselves when it matters.

A good example being Saints stuffing what looked at the time to be a good Leeds side and then rolling over against the Pies. Huddersfield always look like world beaters at some stage in the season and then have a series of disasters. I'm hoping that Catalans have been feeding on raw meat all this week and will spring back into form on Saturday.

What Leeds did last year is neither here nor there for us. That was the only time that's happened in the entire Super League playoffs and it doesn't make me feel any better it just makes me worried that Leeds or Saints are potentially sides that could come up from behind and surprise us.

I know last week against Hull KR was a one off game but the fact we collapsed with a big lead in the first half set some alarm bells for me. Would that have happened last year? If we were 22-6 at half time that would have finished 62-10 or something.

I do agree though that an injury to Tomkins or Finch would seriously damage Wigan.

you're in a similar position to where wigan were last year, where a combination of personnel changes (king out) and injuries have meant that you havent consistently reached your potential, however i can see you choosing your moment as wigan appeared to do so with the cup ties last year.

I'm afraid I have the same fear, Sal. On performances alone I think we are lucky to be where we are in the league, and unless we step up a few gears, I can see us starting to slip down the table. Hope I'm wrong.

Last year we looked at our worst when Monas didn't play or was barely fit, this year if IF Monas comes in and plays to form we'll be better for it.

The loss of King was a bigger blow to us than we realised at the time, both on and off the field. Add to that the decline of Morley, Monas injury, Carvells slow decline and you can see why we are not the same team.

We have great youngsters coming through, but quite a few ageing rock stars at 30 plus. IMO we have a gap to fill and unless we buy-in, we may have to wait for 2-4 yrs before we have a really strong team again.

At the moment Wigan are unstoppable based on ultra confidence and a couple of real stars, but as Teeside points out.. Injuries and loss of form can be devastating. Fortunately we are not at the pointy end of the season just yet.

OK, Kingy was good last year, but people are forgetting that he missed 12 games on the bounce, and we won most of those. Coops has come on a bomb in the past 12 months, the arrival of Chris Hill is a real bonus and if we can quickly decide where to play Ratch, then we're not too far off. It's not too long ago that we would have been delighted and amazed to be second in the table at this stage of the season, and in the semi final of the Cup for the third time in four seasons.

we have been missing key pivot players (Monas, Myler, Brett) in a lot of games..but we are still up there and in the cup semi final!

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.

This is a really good point. [sizeFrom a southern softie, who likes flat beer and Whelks[/size

......and who was brought up in Wigan.

Thats what i think, really thought he was fantastic last year and said you wouldnt be the same without him.

What exactly is his injury?

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.

Sorry Sally but signing big from Australia is almost impossible now, every club needs to build from Within to be successful, seeing players given a chance in SL must motivate every player in the U18's and U21's to do everything just to be selected for the senior side.

Losing Leuluai and finch next season would be a big blow, we would have others chomping at the bit though just for a chance, Losing too many is always a killer which worries me as Carmont, Lima, Fielden are gone or almost certain to go.

If Joel Tomkins comes back from Union next season, i think Sam wont be going anywhere apart from Maybe the NRL.