After last night's game, can anyone honestly say that they still believe the regular season is meaningless, or that players/fans don't/shouldn't care? Every player on both side of the field and every spectator went for it hammer and tong, rugby league doesn't get much more intense. Can we finally put the 2011 play off blues to bed now?

No, I'm still sulking.

And if Leeds win it again from 5th........ I shall scweam and scweam and scweam.


But seriously, no Wire vs Wigan match will ever be a friendly. World war 2 perhaps, but never a friendly.

Yes. Look at the Wigan fans' reaction, they are all saying magnificent, proud of the lads etc.

If we beat them in a playoff or final, will they react to defeat to Warrington by saying magnificent, everyone in a cherry and white shirt deserves a pat on the back...

The remarkable achievement this year will be St Helens winning it from 9th

The Wigan fans are laid back and congratulatory in defeat because they think their injured players are so much better than last nights team. Problem is, they have all got Munchausen by proxy.

If that side got to an elimination play off game or the final and put up a fight like that I think you'd be daft not to give them a pat on the back.

Well all the posters on here have been a bit friendly, it's actually quite refreshing that there have been no trolls on either side and everyone has had grown up conversations.

theres no such thing as a friendly between wire and that lot..remember the locker cup games between the 2...just wait till the play offs start,thats when the season starts for me

Well they have been clearly the best team in the league this year and will probably win the league leaders shield so they are entitled to be optimistic.

If we had had a few players out and played some youngsters and got close to any team, bottom or top of the league, you would have had pages of praise on here for our upcoming talent, the future's bright the future's Wire etc.

[iIf we had had a few players out and played some youngsters and got close to any team, bottom or top of the league, you would have had pages of praise on here for our upcoming talent, the future's bright the future's Wire etc.'"

Only one teenager on the pitch. Yet to read a Wigan post praising his performance.

Five props, a hooker and a loose forward all out. The problem is that all those five props would not have played.

Indeed!

Plus Logan Tomkins and Don Crosby were better on Monday night than McIlorum and a number of those props have ever been against us. I can't see any of those props displacing Crosby from the Wigan side to be honest.

Self belief and confidence are at the heart of any top sporting performance. It even helps to have a bit of arrogance. So the last thing that Wayne is likely to do is to talk down his teams performance. If doubt starts to drip into his team, then balls get knocked on, passes go astray, wingers just fail to ground the ball, and chances go missing. It's his job to talk his team up and keep confidence high, especially after a defeat to a big rival. The Wigan fans are entitled to repeat his mantra, but I seem to recall a year not too long ago when we were 'the best team in SL'. We ended up winning the hub cap, but nothing else.

That defeat will really hurt, especially because their team gave everything on the field, and yet still got beat.