I saw it as the Catalans players were being appluaded as they made their way back to their positions walking towards the south stand. Not neccasarily for the try they had just scored, but their general performance on the night.

And Rugby League didn't end in 1996 when your success suddenly started drying up.

I should not bite but... since 1996 we have won two GF's and a CC. You lot are still dying of thirst compared to us.

It didn't for us either:

1998 - SL Champions.
2002 - Challenge Cup Winners
2010 - SL Champions.

Exactly. We took a beating tonight - but let's give credit to Catalan for putting in the performance they did, 800 miles from home, with hardly any fans and at the home of the champions.

I clearly remember applauding opposition tries at Central Park (provided they were playing a fair game). It's called respect and it's one thing that makes RL stand out in the world of stadium sport. I might not like my team losing - I might even be angry at their apparent lack of effort - but that doesn't mean I should disrespect the opposition with a grumpy silence.

Not to mention the amount of semi-finals and finals we have been in and we have only been outside the play-offs on 2 occasions.

Other fans pretend Wigan died as a force from 96 onwards. We are still in the top 4 teams over the last 15 years, if that is classed as failure then I can't wait to see real success again.

Fair point. I've a question though, if that had been Salford/wire/saints/Leeds/Bradford maybe any team but the dragons would our fans still have applauded? That's not a dig but a genuine question, I do feel a lot of fans have a soft spot for the dragons, maybe because they have such a small number of travelling fans (understandably!)? Not that it's a bad thing in any way, just something that Ive noticed over the last few years.

Only one trophy behind the self-styled 'world's biggest RL club' during an era were we are all fully professional?

Not bad.

I really don't think they would have applauded. Didn't see anybody applauding Mylers intercept the other week but there was applause after Cats intercept try tonight in the second half

Since when did the CC and SL trophy become one?

That is probably true but I did notice when we lost to Wire some people round me applaud Wire's play though much less enthusiastically

I agree with whoever it was who said giving the opposition credit is part of what sets RL apart form other stadium sports.

Do you actually profess to know what you are talking about regarding Rugby League? If so, why?

I will let you go away and add up respective honours prior to the early nineties of full professionalism. It's more than one trophy sunshine.

Eleven teams have won more championships than Wire in the history of Rugby League. You know things are bad when the club add 'The Captain Morgan Trophy' to their honours list.

No, in the case of us of course you wouldn't. We wouldn't have done it for you either! Catalans don't carry any burden of rivalry in a local derby sense, or in a real competition sense either, in terms of success. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way,simply that so far they haven't won anything in SL. It's far far easier to be sporting and friendly towards a team that even though they have won a game, you don't feel are close rivals in geographical or league terms.

Indeed. I read an interview a couple of years ago of the CEO of Catalans. He stated that around 40% of their Merchandise is sold to opposition supporters when they visit the South of France for the game. Quite a lot of RL fans see Catalans as their 2nd Team, or at least a team you want to see do well. (I know I do when not playing Wigan), it's pleasing to see their home averages of neary 10k in only a few years of SL. In addition, it's great to see the club upgrading their ground as hopefully their attendances will increase and the game in France (and Barcelona hopefully) will continue to grow.