Quote: Stu M "Reading some of the stuff on here I must have watched a different game on Friday.
What I saw was a Saints team that made 4 breaks compared to Wigan making 0.
What I saw was an admittedly very hard working Thompson make poor post contact metres and dominated in a few collisions. Compare that to Walmsley who scattered defenders for fun and Knowles who was the best player on the pitch. Thompson must earn more on his own than those two put together.
Lees was MOM and we had Matautia playing prop, second row and centre at different times and not looking out of place in any position. Who else can do that??
I love this narrative too that there’s loads of improvement left in Wigan but not Saints. Wardle was going to humiliate Hurrell apparently. What I saw was one running over the top of the other for his try.
Yes the dry tracks will help Wigan but when the wet weather comes again in October then we have the superior pack and the game plan to suit. Let’s not forget that despite the Walters, Cooper and Havard excuses, we have Bell and Passi to come back into that pack. Bell is probably the player of the season in the forwards.
Are we also ignoring we lost Percival and Batchelor for the last 20-25 mins too??
Wigan defended outstandingly well and showed they are a Champion team. Our attack is still off but in mitigation we have had a different 2-5 all season with Makinson, Hurrell and Percival all missing games and Blake finding his feet. Compare that to Wigan having a settled 2-5 all season.
Of course the red card was a factor but there’s nothing to say how the game would’ve finished without it. No one knows.
The fact remains that Wigan didn’t make a single break all game and there’s an argument to say that French lost control anyway so on another day they could’ve been nilled.
I’ve seen a few Wigan fans saying they would go unbeaten all season and Saints are finished. We are gone, no threat anymore.
Well there’s life in the old dog yet and I wouldn’t bet against us when we play you again.'"
Ok I get it. You won the Waney Wigan way.
Your mom was a prop making next to no yards. No longer the entertainers but the grinders lol.
Saints throughly deserved the win. I’ve no complaints whatsoever.
Don’t get me wrong your defence is superb. On its day the best defence I’ve ever seen from an English team.
I’ve actually tipped you to win the LLS this so I respect and acknowledge your team’s capabilities.
You acknowledge that your attack was off. It’s been off now for over a season so I’m not sure how you are going to improve it now. Not sure of the possession percentages on GF but I suspect it was huge in Saints favour. How are you going to improve your attack?
We haven’t fired this season except for the Penrith game. Am I worried about that ? Yes a little but last season we proved that we can and do get it right for the big games. Our passing all season as lacked that crispness and your top class defence ensured that we didn’t get that crispness back on GF. Do I think that our attack will get better? Absolutely. Our passing couldn’t get any worse.
If Passi was fit I assume that he would replace Wingfield who played very few minutes and seemed reluctant to take the ball in on a few occasions so a definite plus for you when he plays.
If Bell plays who do you drop? Batchelor, Whitley or Sironen? An excellent impact player replacing 3 excellent backrow players so an improvement but maybe some downsides as well.
Walters would replace Nsemba. He would give us more power and variation plus Nsemba played zero minutes. A definite big plus for us.
Havard would replace Mago. For me Havard is the best young English prop in the game. A massive plus for us particularly as Mago played about 10 minutes.
Cooper would replace Byrne. A better prop especially going forward.
For me with 2 full packs we would be a lot more competitive than we were on GF and it’s where I think that this enable our backs to play more fluently and give your defence more problems.
Enjoy your GF victory as I would if we had won. I’m quietly confident that we can and will turn the tables over the course of the season barring major injuries.
By the way Stu was that you in Sainsbury’s yesterday with the Saints shirt on?
