A victory for substance over style. I thought Leeds would have to throw the ball around but a steady Performance won it. Gale and Roberts didn't turn up and the pack were easily held by the rhinos. I wonder how much that Cas champions merchandise is going for today?

Cas bottled it just like i thought they would Powell made a big mistake for me by not playing Monaghan at fullback Eden aint trustworthy for me

big game experience won it

Leeds won it as well as they could in all that rain.
Cas were awful. Not sure they'd have got anywhere close with Hardaker in the team.
Powell made the costly mistake of resting all those players v Hull, they got a hammering and their form never recovered after that.
They were fortunate to beat Saints.

They lost momentum after the game v Hull,Powell after playing it so well all season blew it there, sometimes you have to keep the wagon rolling to succeed

The occasion just looked way too big for them. The big guys like McMeekan and Millington, who've been superb this year, were abysmal!!

I went to the game as we do every year and we were sat down towards the Cas end and as much as they detest us, I still wanted them to win but you knew they had no chance after the first 15/20 mins.

I certainly didn't want them to win. Crappy ground, tiny pitch, some really scummy support, arrogant butthole half back, the list goes on....

Re the scummy support, I won’t forget the ‘Shaun Wane’s a c*nt’ chant that the whole of their support sang for around twenty minutes at the DW in our first home meeting with them this season.

Karma, karma and more karma.

They may detest us, their coach and players may detest ours, their ground may be falling to bits, Gale and Hardaker may be plain annoying and you may feel about as welcome in Cas as herpes but I'd have still preferred them to win.

It was a weird feeling when the play offs kicked off with four teams and one of those was St Helens yet I could name at least two other clubs I actually wanted to win it less then them! Sadly my fourth choice got the win but then they usually do if they make the play offs, so at least it's not alien.

I don't think you can underestimate the impact Hardaker's suspension and the reason for it will have had on the Cas's performance. It's not like an injury to a key player. In that circumstance a good coach can still motivate his side but God knows how Powell faced up to that.

Hardaker''a team mates will have felt let down if not betrayed.
Lost the game before kick off for me.

That's exactly how I felt. Except perhaps just one team less than Saints!

Most neutrals before the game were looking for a Cas win , but the arrogance of their fans (considering they've won nowt) turned a lot of neutrals against them. The majority sat around us were pleased that Leeds pulled it off and the only down side was Cas were not niled

Regards. EW

We sat in the Cas end of the ground and you could just see the shock in their eyes. The season has basically just been a walk in the park up until the play offs but they'd clearly been convinced that they really were that much better then everyone else (rather then the fact that teams like Leeds, Saints and Wigan have been playing the system for years).

We take some flak from fans of clubs like Cas for a lack of atmosphere, leaving early or for glory hunters turning up when we're doing well. I think they set new records in all areas on Saturday night.

Their so-called 'reinvention of the game' was what stuck in my craw.

They've played superbly all season, and I'm in awe of that, and jealous.

But they haven't reinvented anything. They've just played very well, and been lucky on the absentee front - though last weekend was a firm lesson in how your luck can suddenly change (and look at the impact that one missing player had - puts our massive injury toll into a bit of perspective).

The way they keep the ball alive and encourage open play is a joy to watch. Keeping defences guessing and on their toes with strong second phase play off their offloads always looks threatening. On the other hand, our mechanical structured play is both predictable and at times boring to watch.

I miss the days of two halves who could play more off the cuff, creating and playing what it's front of them etc. FWIW I don't blame our players for that..