I certainly wouldn't rule them out. We never know what is going to.happen on the day.

I'd be worried about Buderus. He had a real nightmare against us last year and will want to put it right. He's certainly got the class to do so.

This will NOT be a one-sided final.

Leeds - incredible though it seems - still have a chance to salvage a very, very poor season by lifting the Challenge Cup. Their senior players will know full well that, despite everything that has gone wrong, 2011 is now only 80 minutes away from being another success story.

I'm not sure it would be the best outcome for them, because McDermott would then be in a strong position to continue. But as others have said, it's only one game and one game can hinge on an odd bounce of the ball, a ridiculous refereeing decision (again), an unfortunate injury. It could also be that Wigan get nervous and freeze, whereas Leeds may feel they have nothing to lose and just go for broke.

That said, I think the Maguire factor is hugely important in this one. Madge has proved that he can prepare his teams perfectly for the big occasion, while McDermott doesn't appear to have the Leeds dressing room in any shape or form. In that respect, I just favour Wigan, but anything can still happen.

great post! Did I just type that? Think I need a lie down



You are spot on though

I thought that back in 98,,,Didn*t even bother to watch the game and went to a a cricket game over in West Bromwich....Could*nt believe the score when i got back in.......

I just don't get the comparisons being made between now and 1998.

In 1998, that was an ageing Wigan team jaded by the numbers of Cup Finals it had appeared in. The opposition were utterly hopeless, as Wigan proved a week later when they suddenly got serious; it was all too easy to take the Eagles with a big and fatal pinch of salt.

In 2011, Wigan are a young side desperate to win silverware and hungry for the glory and fame that they've seen their rivals enjoying for the last 15 years. The opposition meanwhile are one of the other best teams in the competition who, while they may have had a shaky season by their own standards, have not exactly struggled against us.

There is simply no way that Wigan, even without Michael Maguire's skilled motivational techniques, will go out at Wembley and be as complacent about facing Leeds Rhinos as they were Sheffield Eagles.

A more worrying comparison could be drawn with 2002, when Saints were the slight favourites but an unfancied and yet still (on paper at least) pretty impressive Wigan team played out of their skins to secure a close victory.

quite right, wigan have got to play at 100% of their ability for the whole 80 minutes. If they do that and not miss tackles, stop leeds offloading, complete 90% of their sets as a minimum and keep their discipline then it will be theirs to win

Leeds definitely have some strike players that could worry us: Maguire, Buderus, Jones-Bishop, Hall and Smith, but I'm pretty confident that we'll keep them quiet on the day.

.
Yeah, anything can happen, one off game yadda yadda but it won't.

Don't get me wrong i'll still be there cheering them but expect a defeat.

aint gonna be another sheffield wigan will win mark my words

I have no doubt Leeds will be mentally up for a big game, but the reality is we haven't played a quality 80 minutes all season. The result against Quins does put the difference in attitude between Leeds and Wigan into perspective, and to be fair to McDermott, you can only point at the players themselves for that.

Leeds may get up and win, but I'm not sure that would be for the best for next season - we need a decent coach. If we win, BM will be in charge again next year.

You know times are bad when you even think about a good side to losing a cup final, just to get rid of the coach.