The l and e found their way into there by accident then?

Agreed. The point is that we've had just as many injuries, but haven't bothered documenting them, preferring to concentrate on how well the youngsters have done as replacements. Only three of our players are "ever-present": Richards & the Tomkins brothers.

One noticeable difference between Mike maguire and Brian Noble I have found is that Madge does not worry/focus as intently on the opposition as much as Brian Noble did. It's a line he constantly spouts in the media about if we can train hard and put in a good performance like we've trained to do - we should do alright. And I completely concur to this.

Wigan shouldn't be worrying about Saints. We just need to look at ourselves and what we do. Our discipline, with and without the ball, against Leeds was utterly superb. I think last week was our best defensive performance of the season. Alright, Leeds were missing some spark from Danny McGuire, but they still put out a very strong team & Brian McClennan admitted after the match they threw everything at us. They could only score from a Wigan error & that was after dominating in the forwards in the first half. Second half our forwards raised their game and we took our chances.

Next week we'll need to replicate that professionalism in terms of discipline & our excellent goal-line defence. Leeds could not score & with Saints missing their two key halfbacks (has that been mentioned yet?) they will be relying heavily on Keiron Cunningham. If we don't allow them cheap field position then I think Saints may struggle. They're a side that lacks pace in comparison to us & I question their ability to break Wigan's defence in their own half. Close the line Saints will always be a threat, but you can bet your life Wigan will be much tougher than Huddersfield. At times, Huddersfield's defence was utterly appalling close their own line. Shaun Lunt was targeted twice and Saints had great success targeting him. There's no weak-links in this Wigan side like that.

The only area I would like to see us improve is our kicking game. I think every Wigan fan can tell you that. Paul Deacon is one of the best in the game & I would like to see him step up and be utilised more - particularly close to the line when you have the aerial threat of Pat Richards against Jamie Foster/Ade Gardner of Francis Meli. Thomas Leuluai needs to step up big time. If he can't find his range - stop kicking it in the air! Kick it on the ground; that way even if it is right at the Saints fullback/wingers they have to bend down to the pick the ball up & don't take it on the full and allow them to build some momentum going forward. All the pressure can't be on Deacon, but we have players who are capable of taking some of the pressure off. Mark Riddell and Mike McIlorum could do with taking some of the responsibilities IMO. Mike McIlorum is an excellent kicker IMO.

You can bet your life that this game will be close. I don't think there will be much in it. Saints are an excellent side - as are we - and I think it will all come down to who can step up on the day. I'm quietly confident that Wigan will do this.

And they're only ever present after playing 2 games in 24 hours as well.

A very good summary.

Few, if any, would disagree that the area Saints seem to be miles ahead of us in is the kicking department. Last tackle options are absolutely critical in a game like this.

shame the kicking department will be playing for salford next year!

This is fun!

You can be forgiven for not realising how many injuries we actually had, because, as I say, we didn't make a big thing of them, but when it got so bad we were forced into giving Karl Pryce a run of games, that shows just how bad things were!

Are you sure you want to keep using these two to make your point?

Both McGuire and Peacock played against us when we battered them in July, and McGuire played when we battered them in March.

Even though Leeds pipped us in two other matches - by one point and two points respectively - I think the overall evidence is that Wigan have been significantly better than Leeds this season.

You keeping insisting otherwise is starting to sound a little like sour grapes that Wigan are back with the big boys.

Of course they make a massive difference, both in terms of one off big games and in terms of consistency over the course of the season. Do Leon Pryce and Kyle Eastmond not count because they played when you nicked a win at Saints earlier this season ? Of course they do, its a bit of a strange point to make. Furthermore, with the amount of field position Leeds had against Wigan last week, had McGuire played the result could very well have been different. I have already stated that it matters not anyhow as we are at Old Trafford again despite missing countless players.

With regards to your final point, I have no issue with Wigan being back. In fact I am quite pleased by it. Its about time we had a derby in the big final again anyway.

We've had the following injured at some time or another: Cameron Phelps, Amos Roberts, Martin Gleeson, George Carmont, Thomas Leuluai, Stuart Fielden, Mark Riddell, Harrison Hansen, Sean O'Loughlin, Paul Prescott, Mike McIlorum, Phil Bailey, Paul Deacon, Eamon O'Carroll, Lee Mossop, and Darrell Goulding.

Lee Mossop, Paul Deacon, Harrison Hansen, Cameron Phelps, and Phil Bailey all for extended periods. But to be fair that's less of an impact than having 3 half backs out at teh same time.