But would MM's second stint have been as good if he hadn't had that break to recharge?

For me Powell will get matches for that, he got his contact wrong. Should have been a yellow which I suppose was balanced by the binning of Sam which was ludicrous at best. I was glad to see that Tasi came back on.

I don't understand the Burgess no try. I said to the wife at the time that I thought he lost it but there was certainly no conclusive proof to overrule the refs decision which is what the VR needs.

Does anyone remember a few months back the suggestion that anybody could play centre and that a specialist centre is of no value in the modern game? How much more of a threat are we with Gildart on the pitch?

I thought it was a clear no try but the amount of time taken to make the decision was appalling.

I think Mcilorum can play the 80 minutes in an occasional big game - whether his level of performance can remain at a high level throughout is the difficult one as you say.

The main problem is in his replacement. Powell offers nothing, is slow and makes poor decisions. A decent stand in and will tackle his heart out but the difference in class is huge. I would consider bringing Ganson back in during the Super 8's - he looked good to me when he played earlier in the year.

A mention for Willie Isa today, ran his blood to water, excellent performance, on that showing he gets the bench spot before Joel when Farrell is back.

His forms been excellent for a few weeks now. He's found a passing game from somewhere which has added a lot.

It'll be a tough call who misses out at Wembley unless we get injuries. There's a few weeks yet so time for things to change.

Couldnt get a grip on why childs had sent it up at all,seeing it on the tv though after the many replays it is clear Budgie doesnt have a hand on it,Childs must have a hell of a set of eyes on him.

best bit of the game for me.He clearly thought he was back in Oz from a few years back where this sort of thing was all too common. Unfortunately in the current climate lying on the ground appearing to have been hit hard, means mandatory head test.....
he knew he'd dropped a clanger when the doctor had no option to take him off despite him being fresh as a daisy.

play acting sorted in one unintentional ruling......

Some great performances in that match. MM, ST, Lockers, Davies, Isa and I thought FPN was far better than he has been for ages.

Loads of comments (rightly) about Gelling and his brain fart but that aside, he was superb today.

Yeah, fully agree with the last few comments. Willie Isa was very good, and looks twice the player lately. The Carney thing was hilarious.

Probably IMO. For semi's and finals (not every week now perhaps) he can do the full 80. If we are going to speculate about what you say above I'd speculate we'd not have conceded the points we did when he went off. Salford had far more space when MM was not getting in their faces.

If we want to beat Hull in the final I'd suggest one of the things Wane needs do is to play MM for the full 80. As it stands they will be waiting for him to go off bang on 20 minutes. They have a smart coach who knows how to play other teams a he showed v Cas in the cup and it's beyond reason to think he has not spotted this trait of Wane's.

I don't think Wane will do that though. He's not ruthless enough and if fit will put Powell in the team out of loyalty for the (undoubted) commitment Powell has shown and around the 20 min mark, on he will come.

Well said Willie Isa gives is all every game.

Did the change in the weather help or hinder us? On One hand Salford had trouble holding onto the ball but on the other, out wide Burgess became less sure about backing himself wide out.

After watching the replay it becomes clear that Micky Mac was the man of the match by a street. He was simply brilliant which is typical McIlorum in a big game and it was nice to see him put a few doubters minds at rest.

We did a great number on Murdoch Masila. He is there main strike weapon but Wigan got in to him before he could build up a head of steam and rattled him time and again. He will know he was in a game this morning.