We had a full end last night plus a few at the side. To follow a successful side in the play offs means dipping into your pocket 3 or 4 times in a few weeks. In the case of us and Leeds, following a Wembley trip. They were charging £28 for a side seat at our place. The RFL want to get real and realise that there is a recession.

Fans know the play off format isn't working, so do the clubs.
RL Journos think a lot but don't murmour a word about anything. They are a pretty useless bunch really as far as voicing an opinion on anything controversial.

Talking to a journo on the way out Friday night and I said to him that if he wanted to know why fans didn't turn up for play off games the Wigan v Leeds game was the perfect example. His reply was that "it was a game that had everything!" He actually believed it too.

He didn't realise it was between two teams who played very average games on the night and the result was decided by the referee. The worst of all worlds.
If they want fans to turn up then a better format has to be devised. Playing a friendly the first week then a week off then a semi final is a complete hotchpotch.

To me keep the top eight so that the clubs at the bottom end have something to play for rather than top 5 or 6 where they don't and the season is pretty meaningless. Then go with 1 v 8, 2 v 7 etc. Four games the first week, two the second then the Final. All game being competitive.
Trouble is SKY want a four week play off series. So we're stuck with it.

" He didn't realise it was between two teams who played very average games on the night and the result was decided by the referee. "


Oh come on that was a very tough game and fully committed by both sets of players. The weather was crap and did not truly show up on the TV and to say the result was decided by the ref is total crap.

I am a season ticket holder. We are a one income family with three wigan fans who attend every match. To watch the two playoff games in ticket prices only in the south stand would cost me 6 x £19 = £114. I have not bought a pie cup of coffee or paid for petrol yet. So like many out there I work for a company that has not given us a pay rise for six years. The ticket prices however and many other things like petrol have shot up, So what as a family do you do. Easy. You watch the play off's on TV. It's a no brainer THE MONEY IS JUST NOT THERE

I didn't say they weren't fully committed, I know they were. I was commenting on the game and it was average. Poor handling by Wigan and Leeds hadn't got a move in them.
As for the result. Wigan scored two converted tries.
Leeds scored one converted try and a drop goal, their other points came from the courtesy of Mr Silverwood.
To deny those penalties had no influence on the game or the result is something I don't agree with. Those six points were the difference between Leeds winning and not!

Sounds like you were watching a different game to most other people, but the important point is that the referee doesn't "give" any points to any team, there are rules and if players breach the rules then the referee judges in the way that the rules dictate, things happen in the heat of the moment and in the speed of the game, but the referees have little leeway to do nothing if an infringement of the rules has occured that affects the play of the game - you could argue that its the players who give away the points.

The referees don't give points they penalise players and award penalties.
Mr Silverwood penalised Wigan and Leeds kicked three goals from the penalties, those six points contributed to the final score of 12-13.

Leeds were offside for their one and only try. Wigan played the ball within ten metres of the Leeds' line and their players did not stand on the line. How else did they get in Finch's face so quickly?
Still what's new? Ironically Leeds gained 4 points because Wigan were penalised twice for being off-side on their own line.

It's just the way things go sometimes. The same thing happened at the same stage last season at the HJ when both sides had played for 79 minutes within no-one being blown for offside. Then TJ Mr Child decided to intervene and the rest is history.

I remember it well. But Leeds seem to get favourable decisions. McGuire shouldn't be playing in the final. I still think you'll beat them. Hope you do.

You can't just remember decisions that go against your your team and think the ref's are against you, what about the 2nd try by Wigan that came from a bad decision from Mr Silverwood. It was never in a million years a knock on by Shaun Lunt. You scored straight from there. So in this logic you only got 6 points.
It was a good game and believe it or not Leeds lost the penalty count for the second game running. On Danny why should he not be playing in the final.

Wigan fans are still funny

Oh give over how many times did Wigan players not stand behind the line when they were defending or did not stand square take the rose tints off

Because Finch spent the whole game moving round the pitch with all the pace and agility of an asthmatic tortoise !

He was gash , get over it .

The RFL have made some serious errors in recent years with how the game is run. The SL semi gates were awful and the Championship 3 game showpiece attracted 6500 at Wire on Sunday, somewhat less than the 20k at Headingley the last time it was for promotion.
The games a mess and we have clowns running it.