Wigan 18
St Helens 6[size0[/size

Problem is, our defensive line actually works and our forwards, well, they don't include Coley and Fielden.

Hargreaves and Fa'asavalu.

But your missing Jason Cayless and have are pretty low on reserves. So that should even things out a bit more.

Cayless has been very poor since his return, and was again on Sunday.

We're arguably stronger without him, looks a shadow of the player he was.

Who do you have to replace him?

Graham
Cunningham
Hargreaves
Clough
Wilkin
Flannery

Fa'asavalu
Puletua
Roby
Ashurst

= massively better than Wigan's pack and bench.

My head says otherwise and i have felt like this on other occasions and been let down but....

i think wigan will just edge it by maybe a few points. Saints were Awsome on sunday and they will take some beating (well they will take a MASSIVE amount of beating) but for this game there seems to be a large amount (understandbly so) of pessimism by us in the build-up. This could be a season changer. a win here could kickstart our year.

i had to suffer watching Saint demolish Leeds yesterday in the Bird ith Hand next to Knowsly road yesterday and the fans in there were only to keen to tell me how much of a walkover Thursday will be for them. hopfully a little bit of that attitude might creep into the Saints squad because why would it not? we have been poor pretty much all season and they have been outstanding.

if we muscle up and get ontop of there pack we are more than capable of chucking the ball around, look at the Bulls win, there was some champange rugby being played on that occasion.

so maybe, just maybe we can do it. lets all of us make the JJB the most intimadating atmosphere possible. Lets scream the place down, lets show the Scum know just how much we HATE them. let our lads know just how much we LOVE them. lets egg them on all the way win or lose.

most importantly though lets stay till the end no matter what the score. for to long has a lot of our support been to quick to spit the dummy out and leave early and it makes me SICK.

WE ARE WIGAN.......COME ON THE WARRIORS.

(Bloody heck, i am just about ready to march over Billinge Lump tonight, whos with me!!!!?)

Never turn down the chance to send the rats scuttling back over Billinge Lump

Wigan by 8

Hull KR have beaten saints this season and Wakefield showed early on that their defence can be breached. In recent years we have been beaten before we took the field against saints but we are due a good start and if we can compete in the early exchanges, RL is a strange game. With the signing of Gleeson our backline is much improved.

The key to whether we compete or not on Friday is the performances of the likes of Fielden and Coley. IF they click, we have the power in the back row and the guile in the 3/4 line to ask questions, and if we can get an early lead or at least stay in touch our players might gain a bit of belief.

The key from our point of view is how we target their youngsters. Strong though saints are, they are still going through a transitionary period and if our coaching staff can target the right players there is no reason why we cannot compete. For crying out loud, they are only human, and as far as I am concerned are nowhere near as good as they were 2 or 3 years ago. It's just a sad indictment of our own team that most supporters have given up already.

So Long, Cuningham, Wellens are not getting older, picking up the odd injury, forcing the introduction of the likes of Clough, Lomax, Wheeler, ashurst etc??

I'm not disputing that these players aren't good eniugh, but as a coach I would be making sure that my team were asking questions of the new and ageing players (cunningham excepted maybe)

saints are not unbeatable.