I don't think you can blame Wigan for their antics at the play the ball, as a previous poster said it was Childs who didn't stamp it out early on. I don't think it was a classic but their was a level on intensity defensively from both teams that hasn't been in too many SL game this season. I think Wane summed the game up perfectly after the match.

You can definitely blame Wigan for their antics, its their coached style of play to push the boundaries of the referees tolerance, and its outside the spirit of the game.

Its a "win at all costs" mentality that's sucking the entertainment value from the game, however it is a ploy that can bring success.

There's plenty of posts on the Wigan board to show that their own fans are a bit fed up of this approach too though.

I think most fans want to see entertaining rugby and success. Some will be happy with just success, but the killer is a team that is not winning or entertaining and we saw that happening with Saints over the last couple of years where they shed an awful lot of fans. For teams that have had a lot of success in the past I suppose there is even more pressure to continue it in the future.

Throw in there the epitome of the within limits foul play Tony Clubb , Diving , Ball stealing and just in general being a grub.

Can't fault the commitment though and he seems to just get away with it .

Talking about "win at all costs" mentality. i think, apart from Thursday's result ,you couldn't write Wigan off for another visit to Old Trafford. We saw the difference last year in last few league games when ,after Flower got sent off,Wigan came back with a completely different game & blew us away. In the final ,Wigan & the other final winners know that only unbridled aggression & stretching rules to breaking point will win the cup. Take your foot off the gas for just a minute & you will be sunk.