We will do well to stay ahead of you given the games we both have to play. However, Wigan have named a very young squad for our game on Friday, so we may sneak a result

Just seen Wigan's 19 for friday and I think it is fair to say that our chances of a home tie have just diminished. Only 6 in the 19 were in the 17 at Wembley. No S. Tomkins, Charnley, Richards, Green, Smith, O'Loughlin, Hansen, McIlorum, Mossup or Farrell. Or Goulding - though tbf we was knocked out.

Even though it gives us a good chance of the 2 points (i still dont think we will win however!), it does undermine the competiition that Wigan dont really care what posiition they finish in now

Yeah, I know you're missing a few too, but you should have enough to see off that squad. I was going to say 'comfortably', but being Wigan they'll be well prepared and the kids will be hungry.

i just get the feeling that our heads are gone for the season now and they just want it over with - will be happy to be proved wrong though!

Although I will be saving my money now and not going to Wigan to see their Under 19's play

Yeah, I understand why they've done it (and others have done it before or after the CC final), but that is taking it to an extreme. If they'd just kept Smith [ior[/i Green and Farrell [ior[/i Hansen, it'd have been some sort of fig leaf.
I'm going to the Rovers-London game and I'm a bit worried that it might suit us to play our kids. I'd make the best of it, next generation and that, but it'll drain the occasion of any intensity.

That Wigan U-19's squad has effectively taken away any chance of 5th now. Wane really doesn't know how to respect the competition does he?

It might have made it harder! All the 1st team were still nursing hangovers yesterday so i would have preferred to have played them!!

Only because this squad was planned well in advance. I doubt they would have partied quite so long if they were all due to play on Friday.

This is the most shocking proclamation of the season.

My view on The Pie's squad is that they've got themselves into a position where they can afford to rest players which is down to their own hard work throughout the preceding twenty five rounds.

If we hadn't capitulated at Salford and respected possesion in numerous other games this season we wouldn't have needed to look to Wigan for a favour.

It's a squad game, Wane can select who he likes from that squad, I'd do exactly the same.

Good point Stan. To me this just demonstrates the lack of intensity at the back end of the regular season. Obviously we're grateful if they put out a weaker team but it does reflect badly on the competition.

It will reflect badly if we lose!!

TBH that Wigan side is that poor with players clearly just been rested instead of injured that it is borderline bringing the game into disrespute.

Before anyone says it I know we pulled a similar trick at CP but let us be honest this is on a totally different level.

MMmm its a hard one to call, i can see what wigan er doing, they are going for the 1v4 game rather than the 2v3... It`s because of stunts like this that they should change the format of the play-offs.. instead of a position based draw perhaps a actual 8 ball draw to determine who plays who in the first set of fixtures would be better suited.


..
hard to actually choose who i`d rather play tbh ...ST`s,Catalan or FC...

Do we want another derby in the play offs ? if not i`d throw at least one game so as to assure 8th and get out of the potential derby..

hard to call tbh...so lets just see what happens this round and then we`ll have a better picture.

We now know for certain that Wigan are not fussed where in the top 4 they finish and I have to ask why would Warrington & Leeds feel any differently?

In fact there seems to be a feeling rightly or wrongly that the best position for those clubs to finish is 4th in order to play Huddersfield in the first week of the play offs rather than each other. Whatever, they know that they can't get knocked out in week 1 of the play offs anyway and the worst that can happen is having a home game the week after against a lower placed team. Making the remainder of the regular season just a bit of a nuisance for them, something to get out of the way.

This doesn't bode well for us and more than ever it looks like 8th place and Catalans away for Rovers in the play offs and it's totally out of our own hands. Talk of manipulating our own results to get the play off game we want is probably irrelevant because we are totally at the mercy of other results.

For Rounds 26 & 27 assuming the teams that really need to win do so at the expense of weakened opponents who aren't much bothered then Saints, Catalans and Hull win on Friday.

That would there & then end our hopes of a home play off game but there's worse...........

Those results would guarantee a home play off game for Saints.......... so they in turn are then not fussed in round 27 against Hull and with only a week to the play offs almost certainly follow Wigan's example and pick a mainly reserve team. Catalans though still need to get something from the final game (because they have inferior points difference to Hull) and since they are at home against nothing to play for Warrington they will probably do so.

Leaving a final table of;

5th Catalans............32 points
6th St Helens...........31 points
7th Hull FC...............30 points (walkovers against reserve teams in last 2 fixtures)
8th Rovers...............26 or 28 or 30 points (makes no difference).

To top it off no doubt we'll get a short turnaround and 2 days travel to Perpignan (no direct flights in midweek at short notice) giving us an almost impossible task. We'll have about 10 fans there tops who somehow have the time, money and ingenuity to somehow get over there in time whereas away to anyone else it'd be 3,000 plus.

Hopefully, Warrington & Leeds will prove me wrong by actually caring about winning their remaining fixtures but the decision by a major rival to virtually throw their game against Hull doesn't fill me with confidence. More than ever they won't want to risk injury & suspension to important players in (for them) unimportant games not now that Wigan have acted to avoid that risk themselves.