Agreed. What we have been doing is playing at a lower intensity in the league in recent months. The CC final may not have been great to watch but we played pretty well, particularly in defence.



It looks like Wane has been planning for peaking in the play-offs, which is great, though I'd have preferred us to bring a bit of form into the play-offs rather than assuming we could flick a switch and be able to beat the top sides. But Wane knows the team best. If this team continues to do well without Lockers then Wane will deserve a lot of praise.

The 8 team play offs were introduced in 2009. Leeds had previously won Super League in 2004, 2007 & 2008. They also won it in 2009, during which year they also finished top of the table.



So rather than post rubbish on a public forum just take a few seconds to check out your theories first.

We're Wigan rugby. We win when we want.

We haven't planned to finish 4th because as you say we had no idea who would be top. What I do believe we have done is split the season into 3 parts. Finish top 4 (did at magic) Win the cup. Win the playoffs.



There has been a clear drop in our intensity in recent months that was back last night and possibly in the first half against Leeds. There has been no urgency when behind that again was there last night. If we won in recent weeks we won. If we lost then we lost.



We've played the rules to the best we can and given ourselves a chance. We'll no doubt be deducted points for breaking the spirit of the league.

^This!

Since the Top 8 was introduced Leeds have played the system consistently whereas previously although they may have won it 3 times those 3 victories wasn't back to back but apart from 2010 the wins have all been for Leeds 09, 11 & 12 the point I'm trying to make that people just either flat out refuse to take note of or are just too thick to realise how Leeds have played the system is that it's not that Wigan have set out to finish in any particular position or to play Huddersfield in the 1st round what they have done is played well enough over 27 rounds of the regular season without breaking their necks trying to finish top to just make the play offs and then have enough left to make a real tilt at the play offs which is precisely how Leeds have played it since 2009 and that's exactly how Wigan have done it this season it just remains to be seen if its successful no final table positions were set out it was simply a case of make the playoffs then kick into 2nd gear.

Can I introduce you to a few things?

1: , that's a comma, you use it to separate elements in a series or to connect two independent clauses. It helps what you write to be read.

2: . that's a full stop. You can use a full stop to indicate that a statement is complete and that what follows is a new one. You used one, wasn't it fun?

3: REALITY. I've read some utter nonsense on this site before, but yours really takes the biscuit. Going in to a game like last nights on the back of absolutely awful form and, being realistic, very little reason to have any confidence that you could turn over a top team after Leeds dismantled you last week is the worst possible preparation for play-off rugby. Don't let one result against a team who played very poorly blind you to the fact that Wigan lost their way some time ago and will most likely struggle again when facing Warrington, Leeds or Saints (not that they'll necessarily lose, I don't doubt the quality in the Wigan ranks).



Wigan played well last night, but they were aided by the fact that Huddersfield played so poorly. To suggest that they gave anything less than 100% against Leeds or didn't care that they lost is an insult to your players and the blood they left on the field, they gave their all and came up short against a very good team and the performance against Leeds was more indicative of the second half of Wigan's season than last nights. Whilst I'm sure Shaun Wane will accept the odd defeat here and there he is not the sort of man to accept anything less than 100% effort yet you talk about having 'enough energy' left for this time of year like there's a finite amount available across a season - Leeds have never just put in 70%, they've built up to peak at this time of year, and guess what, they're peaking again. What you're actually saying is that Wigan have discovered a form 'tap' that they turned off months ago and can now just turn it back on at will.



And finally, to suggest that it's deluded to say that Leeds would have won the Grand Finals under the old system is difficult to comprehend. Under different systems and finishing in different positions Leeds have lost one knockout play off game since 2007. To suggest that kind of capability is down to a system is what sounds deluded to me.

Lets look at finishing positions before and after introduction of Top 8 in the old system 2004 Leeds 1st, 2007 Leeds 2nd, 2008 Leeds 2nd then into the new system in the 3 times they've won since 2009 Leeds have finished fifth twice in 11 & 12 you can not actually sit there and tell me that Leeds under the old system would have ever finished any lower than top 2 and I've just proved that they didn't therefore that is called playing the system what I have stated time and time again but I'll spell it out for you again is that Wigan have NOT turned on or off any kind of form they have simply set out to finish comfortably into a playoff position without busting a gut it's got nothing to do with effort or commitment that has always been the same the difference is during certain games this season key players have been missing Saints away, Hudds home, Hull home wigan are playing the system and the sooner people realise that the better.

It's so difficult to read your posts, it might be an idea to use grammar. My apologies if you're dyslexic. No one is saying Leeds haven't played the system, but to say they wouldn't have won trophies otherwise is well worthy of the ridicule you're receiving. Look at the teams they have beaten on their way to winning those trophies as proof.

You call it playing the system, but somehow, despite being the only team to have successfully exploited this clearly flawed system, Leeds have gone all out to finish as high as possible this season. That's weird isn't it? The only team to have seen the flaw in this system and successfully exploit it decide to ignore it? Not only that, but despite being the creators of this masterplan they decided not to rest any of their key players at any point during the last three years, despite playing in more games than any other team during that time. Instead they cunningly engineered lower placed finishes by knocking on, losing close fought games and getting players suspended for games against key opposition.



The only masterplan at Leeds is to peak at the right times of the season, namely 1 - The WCC (semi successfully) 2 - The CC Semi and Final (again semi successfully) 3 - The play-offs (undoubtedly successfully) and peaking at those times means the occasional dip in form. They don't plan these dips in form, they just happen, and if Leeds could find a way of playing at top form all season they'd do it. They don't give less, they don't try less it's just that sometimes their performances are not as good.



Strangely though we've not had a dreadful 3 month period like Wigans in all those seasons. Maybe Wigan have perfected the plan, or maybe you're talking gibberish.

So if Wigan or Leeds win the Grand Final this year you'll still tell yourself Leeds have peaked at the right time of the season and they apparently did all they could to finish as high as they could and still finished outside the top 2 yeah you keep telling yourself that Leeds are simply peaking at the right time.

Go through Leeds games this season and tell me a single one where they didn't try their damndest to win. They might have played badly some times, they might have had some bad luck (especially with injuries - review our injury list this season and tell me where Leeds should have finished), but they never rested their best players when fit (much to the chagrin of many of my fellow Rhinos fans) and never phoned it in. Of course Leeds are peaking at the right time. You're either an idiot or deliberately obtuse, I no longer care which.