tonight was wigans chance to show that they dont rely on tomkins brilliance..... they failed massively.

not only did they have virtually no attacking threat, but they looked like they didnt know what to do to get out of their own half without him.

never has a top team been so reliant on one player.

without silverwood they probably wouldn't have got in leeds half.

It was very simple.

Wigan are that structured that if they lose one of their 1,7 or 9 they'll be doomed. They had no other option in the first half. They obviously got told to try the inside ball in the 2nd and Leeds learnt. Silverwood did his best for Wigan but they weren't good enough on the night.

It's simple.

Wigan are a 1 man team.

Hang on let me say it again...

Wigan are a 1 man team.

Bye Finch, Bye Leulaui, Bye Lima!

thing is though, they shouldn't be struggling that much, unless it was the movement of SOL, cos tomkins is on the end of the plays always, he's last man, so it should just be a case that his replacement just learns and runs the same lines.

agreed.... people say its packs that win games...but in wigans case i think its almost physiological.. without him there they are already on the back foot..... i don't know if it effects the way the pack plays.... but they looked like a beaten outfit 10 mins into that first half... and lets be honest, that leeds pack isn't all that.

Isn't that what they tried though and Murphy just never had the timing right (did the interception go to ground as the pass was to where Tomkins normally is?).

How many Super League games has Tomkins missed this season? They had nobody ready to step into his role in the team.

Going back to Murphy did anybody else think he didn't look well? At one point he was bent double with the physio when he hadn't been involved in play for ages.

+1, deckchair
I thought that was supposed to be a semi-final. No Wigan intensity AT ALL.
When Wigan had a ptb, Leeds were all over them like a rash.
When Leeds had a ptb, Wigan dawdled upto them, like they weren't interested (virtually all through the match). i.e. a beaten pack.

Yes, I know we battered most teams out of the water, last season, but our pack was rarely "defeated". Wigan played like that, until about 6 weeks ago.
Bar the Cats "whooping" 2 weeks ago, Wigan's pack has been about as effective as Swinton's, since we walloped 'em, on 11 August

i think the wigan pack relys on him getting quick play the balls and putting the defending team on the backfoot.... that also makes finch look good....without him they couldn't do that.... their forwards looked static and flat. Leeds coped easily with the likes of hock and lima.

they spent most of the game being turned around by sinfield and they had no answer.

wane had no game plan at all.

No Rat Boy hurts them, for starters
LuLu, as good as he is, is obviously not match fit
Finch (to me) has always been "the emporer's new clothes"
Then, with the failures of the above, you have Wigan's pack, which, pound for pound, is nowhere near comparable to our's (at each other's peak).

Add to this, Wigan's "turn around" with their halves next season, I wouldn't be sprinting down to the bookies, with my hard earned, to be betting on them for next season. Green, and that fella they bought a few weeks back, nah, my underwear remains intact

next season will certainly be interesting for wigan.... the loss of leulai and finch is massive.... matty smith is e.

i remember last season the pies fans saying they didn't want ratchford as he we just be a squad player for them.. he wasnt good enough apparently.... we were welcome to him

i bet they would kill for a someone of his talent now.

Wigan were just far too underdone.

They effectively hadn't played in 3 weeks because they had a week off and catalans just bent over, that game might as well have been a bye.

Combine that with playing a battled hardened leeds in the zone.

I don't understand this idea that Wigan were getting all the calls... yes in the second half they had maybe one or two go there way.... most obvious being the Lunt incident.

But Leeds got away with two knocks on from Kickoffs in the game, which would have resulted in Wigan having a scrum in Leeds 20.

Seemed poor decisions evened themselves out.

There is a case to point a finger at McIllorum for a portion of blame too. A wreckless and stupid decision left Wigan without a man in the trenches. He's no Roby/Monaghan but he does influence Wigan's game.

Did I read the attendance right? 8235 !!! WTF ..... Apparently, at the game, it was given as 12,000, but even if it was that !!! ..... I understand many of the reasons for people not attending some playoff games but that was the semi final of a competition Wigan fans have bleated all year was theirs for the taking.......

Forget Tomkins minor being injured; the psychological effect on the Wigan players of seeing so many empty seats would be complete demoralisation ..... and that's what the first half looked like - their forwards just couldn't compete with the effort the Leeds forwards were putting in, so their backs didn't get a chance to dance.

8,235 is what the Guardian has as the attendance in their match report.