Rugby League Grand Final

[Pleatfooted]

I wish you would shut up about being raggish for God sake,I'm 46 and supported City and Wigan RL all my life,if I was let down, (usually),on a Saturday,I was always cheered up on Sunday,just believe me when I say,Wigan are the team to aspire to,always have been and will be,the "loiners" are big enough in their own county,that's it.

You mention Phil Clarke,another fine rugby league player,who like Paul Lake at City,we will never know how far he could have gone,there is a City-Wigan similarity after all,but he does sing Wigan's praises,but we had years of that Stevo slating us at every opportunity.

Back to you,I don't have a problem with you being Manchester born and bred and supporting Leeds,although personally I find it a bit weird,in fact very strange,but you have your reasons,I'd like to see the reaction you would have if your car had stickers in the window,City and Leeds........

I've got to be honest Phil Clarke does show abit of biased towards leigh as well as he freely admits watching them as a kid haha

 

[meeesh]

I'm not sticking my nose into your debate but why is there no point bringing the salary cap into it mate? You blatantly cheated the rules to avoid relegation to the tune of over £140,00 to £200,000 if I remember rightly, if not please feel free to correct me on that figure. That figure is a massive amount in Rugby league.
If you had been relegated, which in my opinion you should've been as punishment alone i think you'd have been in dire straits for a number of years

Bent mate,but as the saying goes,what goes on behind closed doors,nobody knows !!

But imagine not having Wigan Rugby in the top flight/super league,may as well as scrap the whole sport....................now I have started to sound raggish :)

 

[Pleatfooted]

Bent mate,but as the saying goes,what goes on behind closed doors,nobody knows !!

But imagine not having Wigan Rugby in the top flight/super league,may as well as scrap the whole sport....................now I have started to sound raggish :)

That definitely is a rag infested statement haha

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

if I was let down, (usually),on a Saturday,I was always cheered up on Sunday,

haha. think yourself lucky.
I had to put up with years with City being shite on a saturday then Leeds being bad on a sunday.

just believe me when I say,Wigan are the team to aspire to,always have been and will be,the "loiners" are big enough in their own county,that's it.

maybe once in a different era & landscape but not now especially with the rugby Warne dishes up.

but we had years of that Stevo slating us at every opportunity.

Stevo mostly slated all teams off. He definately wasn't pro-Leeds except for one season when he tipped them for the title.
Brian Carney i like, and most of the other commentators are okay and try and be fair mostly (or not show any inherent bias), but Phil Clarke does my head in at times. Any Leeds try which involves the Video Ref he'll try find the slightest reason for it to be disallowed.

I don't have a problem with you being Manchester born and bred and supporting Leeds,although personally I find it a bit weird,in fact very strange,but you have your reasons,I'd like to see the reaction you would have if your car had stickers in the window,City and Leeds........

Like i've said, my dad and his side of the family come from Yorkshire (my grandad was a Bradford Northern fan for some reason). My dad even played for Leeds juniors a couple of years before i was born.
He took me to the 77 & 78 CC finals and one or two games in the 80's, and followed them when they got televised in the cup games. Once the game switched to summer and Sky started televising the Superleague it became easier.
Not sure who you consider i should really follow in RL, as it's not like there's an abundance of RL teams in Manchester.

Never had the car stickers etc but had a few comments over the years on sites along the M62 corridor when i've turned up with a City cup one week then a Leeds Rhinos one the next.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

I wish you would shut up about being raggish for God sake,I'm 46 and supported City and Wigan RL all my life,if I was let down, (usually),on a Saturday,I was always cheered up on Sunday,just believe me when I say,Wigan are the team to aspire to,always have been and will be,the "loiners" are big enough in their own county,that's it.

You mention Phil Clarke,another fine rugby league player,who like Paul Lake at City,we will never know how far he could have gone,there is a City-Wigan similarity after all,but he does sing Wigan's praises,but we had years of that Stevo slating us at every opportunity.

Back to you,I don't have a problem with you being Manchester born and bred and supporting Leeds,although personally I find it a bit weird,in fact very strange,but you have your reasons,I'd like to see the reaction you would have if your car had stickers in the window,City and Leeds........

You mention Phil Clarke's career was cut short by injury. How bizarre it is then that Phil celebrated Danny Maguire doing his cruciates in the play off semi final about five years ago.

I quite like Wigan. The fans get the balance right spending more time celebrating Wigan's success than gloating over opposition failings. I know that changes a bit for Derbies against Saints etc.

Part of the reason Leeds are dislikes is because Rhinos fans have a reputation for not giving any credit to opposition teams. There is some truth in this with, for example, Sam Tomkins always getting a hard time at Headingley.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

It was great to be at the Swamp last night to see the Rhinos make Super League era. Danny Maguire should be now rated amongst the best players of recent decade along the likes of Edwards, Hanley, Cunningham and Sinfield.

The Rhinos must now be considered the best team of the Super League, like Wigan were the outstanding team before S.L.

Stevie Ward playing a week after after surgery on a dislocated shoulder was tremendous. He is top guy who spends a lot of his time helping people with Mental Health issues.

Credit to Cas for a brilliant season. Their fans weee anxious in the pubs before the game because I think they feared that their players would underperform.

The celebrations in the Bishops after the game were less raucous than usual as most Leeds fans had empathy for the Cas fans. That said, I did manage to get in my annual rendition of Bluemoon and the bar staff were underwhelmed with my City badges.

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

You mention Phil Clarke's career was cut short by injury. How bizarre it is then that Phil celebrated Danny Maguire doing his cruciates in the play off semi final about five years ago.

Part of the reason Leeds are dislikes is because Rhinos fans have a reputation for not giving any credit to opposition teams. There is some truth in this with, for example, Sam Tomkins always getting a hard time at Headingley.

The reaction of Phil Clarke to that Maguire injury still leaves a sour taste all these on, and i think i'm at the point where when i now hear him say anything i feel the same way i do when Tyler is commentating on the rags.

I'm quite happy to give Wigan credit when it's due. I especially remember Dave Furner taking Leeds game plan apart one year all by himself, and couldn't believe we got him the year after. My biggest gripe at the minute is the tactics employed by Warne over the last few years, concentrating on what i consider the negative side of the game, like the shenanigins around slowing the ruck, and the seemingly direction from him to go out and hurt or disrupt certain players.

Another thing i've found amusing when speaking to fans from other clubs is their apparant belief of how Wigan players are favoured for England call ups, similiar to our moans regarding the rags and the FA. Possibly a case in point was the other year when you had a out-of-form or not match fit players like Sam Tomkins / Sean o'Loughlin likely to get the nod in front of other in form players.

 

[Ghandi's Flip Flops]

It was great to be at the Swamp last night to see the Rhinos make Super League era. Danny Maguire should be now rated amongst the best players of recent decade along the likes of Edwards, Hanley, Cunningham and Sinfield.

The Rhinos must now be considered the best team of the Super League, like Wigan were the outstanding team before S.L.

Stevie Ward playing a week after after surgery on a dislocated shoulder was tremendous. He is top guy who spends a lot of his time helping people with Mental Health issues.

Credit to Cas for a brilliant season. Their fans weee anxious in the pubs before the game because I think they feared that their players would underperform.

The way Maguire has adapted his game over the last few years when he lost his pace deserves specail praise. My only gripe with him is i wish he would give it a rest with the referees trying to ref games himself by getting in their ear, a la Rooney style.

Stevie Ward is probably my favourite player at the minute, with the amount of work & tackling he gets through. Saying that my old man wasn't that impressed with him the other week when at a Leeds members social event , where him and half the Leeds team turned up. Whereas all the other players mixed & chatted with everyone, he spent nearly all the night not saying much and messing with his phone.

Agree with your credit to Cas, as they've been the best team by a mile all year. Feel sorry for them they couldn't maintain it when it mattered.

Also think Hull FC deserve a load of credit as well. Think a large part of Leeds win was employing similiar tactics that Hull did when they'd played Cas earlier in the year.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

The reaction of Phil Clarke to that Maguire injury still leaves a sour taste all these on, and i think i'm at the point where when i now hear him say anything i feel the same way i do when Tyler is commentating on the rags.

I'm quite happy to give Wigan credit when it's due. I especially remember Dave Furner taking Leeds game plan apart one year all by himself, and couldn't believe we got him the year after. My biggest gripe at the minute is the tactics employed by Warne over the last few years, concentrating on what i consider the negative side of the game, like the shenanigins around slowing the ruck, and the seemingly direction from him to go out and hurt or disrupt certain players.

Another thing i've found amusing when speaking to fans from other clubs is their apparant belief of how Wigan players are favoured for England call ups, similiar to our moans regarding the rags and the FA. Possibly a case in point was the other year when you had a out-of-form or not match fit players like Sam Tomkins / Sean o'Loughlin likely to get the nod in front of other in form players.

I remember when we used to mock Saints for getting loads of England call ups. There was a lot of that when I went to my first Rhinos game about 20 years ago.

I recall Bobby Giukding missed an injury time penalty to win the game for Saints as the South Stand chanted, "Bobby, Bobby I've shagged your wife".

 

[Tim of the Oak]

The way Maguire has adapted his game over the last few years when he lost his pace deserves specail praise. My only gripe with him is i wish he would give it a rest with the referees trying to ref games himself by getting in their ear, a la Rooney style.

Stevie Ward is probably my favourite player at the minute, with the amount of work & tackling he gets through. Saying that my old man wasn't that impressed with him the other week when at a Leeds members social event , where him and half the Leeds team turned up. Whereas all the other players mixed & chatted with everyone, he spent nearly all the night not saying much and messing with his phone.

Agree with your credit to Cas, as they've been the best team by a mile all year. Feel sorry for them they couldn't maintain it when it mattered.

Also think Hull FC deserve a load of credit as well. Think a large part of Leeds win was employing similiar tactics that Hull did when they'd played Cas earlier in the year.

Good points mate. Stevie has struggled with depression in the past so he might not be as good at the social events as other players, or he was just having an off night. The other players say he is a top bloke.

I get what you mean about Danny in the referees ear. I think Maguire has seen this tactic working for other teams over the years e.g. to get the benefit of the doubt on big decisions.

Yes Hull have been strong too and will be a force again next season. Longer term Hull might face a struggle with the salary cap as they have brought through plenty of homegrown players who will want to be better rewarded now Hull are an established trophy winning team again.