How is this happening Stains with their team of Australian standard players which are so superior to our super league players have just lost against Salford with their vastly inferior players,I dont get it what is wrong with world this shouldnt happen I truly am shocked.

You have to get there first!!

Obviously, there is nothing like stating the obvious!

So do you.

Without making this Saints vs Wigan, the best example I can think of is 2017.

In 2017, Castleford were by far the best team in the league. They finished top, they were admired by all and played free flowing rugby. They were great to watch but they ran out of steam and lost the Grand Final to a Leeds team who surged at the right time. Some blame on Hardaker for upsetting the applecart (being banned and missing is an obvious disadvantage but the disruption to the other players cannot be quantified)

History is unkind to Cas, and now 5 years later the GF win by Leeds is the thing that’s remembered and the domination of Cas through the season is a faded memory.

I don’t know if anyone who feels that Leeds were the best team that season, except maybe Leeds fans…..
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Just like we did in the Challenge Cup

10 out of 10 for having the gonads to come on here.

But if 2022 has taught us anything it's that no-one is guaranteed a shot at the final.

We know that already. Now you lot do too.

The best team is the team that wins the Grand Final. They're the rules at the start, we all know them and teams will (or should) plan their season around peaking at the right time to win said Grand Final. See Wigan 2013.

And that is still a better list than we have had the last few seasons.

Not fair that the RFL expect them to play with all these injuries. It's a conspiracy.

Just one of those days yesterday and I agree all it takes is one wrong bounce of the ball and you're done

Literally 4 players out injury, number 11 is banned!

We’ve had about 4 injured for most of the year.

Did I say we would?

Sironen got injured early on too. It's where the injuries are and the quality of them that is difficult currently as much as the number (if Wigan "only" had 2 out if would still be huge if they were Field and French) - we ended the game with our first choice wingers, centres and 7 injured and both our quota back rows missing (one to suspension as you rightly point out).

Thats a heck of a lot of disruption on edges and irt's on edges we got murdered. Salford were terrific and deserved it.

It will be a different team (personnel and attitude) come the play-offs hopefully.

I think what the Leeds result against Wigan and this Salford result against Saints may have in common is that Leeds and Salford are both scrapping to make the six, so every point counts, whereas Wigan and Saints know they will be in the six, and probably the top two. Maybe the intensity just dropped a little as a result? It's good for the competition anyway. We all know who the best teams are and who the likely grand finalists are but there will always be that little doubt now. There have been enough upsets against all of the top teams that we can't just take things for granted (even though I think these games would have been different if they were play-offs).

You’re on the money there, all jokes about Saints aside, they’ve simply not got a great deal to play for. Look at Wakey on Friday, desperation does funny things to a team. Games that looked comfortable a few weeks ago, like ours at Wakey, the home game with Toulouse and our last away game at HKR could be extremely tricky. Our own attitude has not been sparkling for the last couple of weeks and that needs to improve because if we’re off at Wakey the week after next, it could be a day similar to Leeds.