Most non wigan fans would hate baby jesus if he was seen in a wigan shirt though. just a natural reaction!

Erm, Leeds are the exception rather than the rule y'know

Wane came within a couple of points of taking you to OT. Had you got there I'm pretty sure you too would have beaten Wire. For all the flak he's copping about taking the regular rounds too seriously you missed out by a tiny margin. And while you've changed some players I reckon some pretty minor changes to the approaches of your coaching staff and conditioners will see you being as big a threat as anyone next season.

Exactly

I'm afraid that kind of talk isn't appreciated round these parts - either be a doom merchant typing with a knife permanently hovering just above your wrist, or never darken our door again.

It sounds disturbingly like an evocation to the Leeds blueprint, just do what’s needed to finish in a reasonable play off place, and sod half of the league games (I hope you aren’t thinking this?)because if that’s the right way to win something why don’t we all save are cash, stay at home, watch sky and come back at the end of the season when they all start to play for real. I’m starting to think I’m alone in the wilderness like that poor sod in that song from Oz, feel’n p*ssed off standing in that sweltering pub, with no beer. What’s happening to this great game of ours?

Spot on! I mean, people seem to forget that we were missing two of our key spine players in that semi final against Leeds. Not an excuse by any means but had both been able to play then who knows? As it stands we took them to 1 point from the Grand Final without our best player!

Indeed you can. The question is whether it happens more times than not and if it actually gives you the best chance of winning the GF.

History suggests that it does not. If that is being "absolute" (it isn't but I will make allowances for you) then so be it.

If you think that analysis of fact makes me look foolish then that is up to you. Everyone can make up their own mind.

Did I really say the same about Madge? I seem to remember saying it was a gamble to appoint him (which it was) and that I was pleased that it paid off (which I am).

I am not arguing that it is impossible to win the GF from 1st, rather history suggests that a focus away from finishing 1st and more on hitting the GF with form is a sensible way forward, if not THE ONLY way forward under the current rules of SL.

When we were having to endure Wigan's monopoly of RL in the 80s & 90s most people I know had nothing but admiration for the great players you had. The antipathy was reserved for a large number of your supporters. Similarly, up until Wane, I can't think of one of your coaches who I could not warm to. No doubt on the dark side of the hill feelings aren't so generous from your neighbours.

Dorahy? Hughes?

No. All he did was take inconsistent form in the weekly rounds into the playoffs.

The idea that the indifferent form in the weekly rounds was all part of a Noble master plan was if I recall put forward as an excuse back then but it was soon proved to be a fallacy as it was shown if you are inconsistent in the league due to being poor then you will be inconsistent in the playoffs. Teams need to take some kind of form into the playoffs and we never really did that under Noble.

It was blindingly obvious really. The reason the team couldn't string a decent run if league form together wasn't because Noble was spelling players or in some other way was doing stuff that meant the results went as they did with the aim of peaking at the end of the season. When the team lost, it lost more often than not with the full squad out just looking poor.

Under him we were not good enough during the season nor in the play offs. It was obvious that given the way the team played during the rounds the team was never going to win a GF under him.

FWIW I don't think any top team starts the season with the aim of finishing just anywhere in the top 8, (and preferably 5th these days!) and I don't think Noble's Wigan teams did either.

But I do think as the season draws to as close teams start to take more consideration of players welfare and won't bust a gut like we did to win the league V HKR if that means going into the play offs shattered. I also don't think a team in 5th with one round to go will go all out to finish 4th.

So what I am saying is while the league may be unimportant trophy-wise I believe all the clubs still try and win the weekly rounds until things look to have been more or less decided toward the end of the season. We didn't do that last year and due to some daft losses earlier on found ourselves having to bust a gut to win the league. Wane needs to learn from that but he has nothing to learn from Noble.

im not sure anyone would suggest that any team doesnt try to win

Alex Murphy ?

I would say that some teams have found it to their advantage not to try too hard in some games. I believe this has always been the case, but now things are becoming unacceptable in many league games IMO.

I’ve a number of reasons to be particularly fond of Joe Cool. He missed the final conversion for HKR against Cas in 1986 to give us the Challenge Cup & IIRC he was in charge when we stuffed you 33-2 in the Regal Trophy Final & 46-0 in the league in 1993/94.
Eric Hughes, I’d forgotten about.