Playoffs '13

[WireMan]

In fairness Wireman, he's frustrated with aspects of his club, not calling for a complete overhaul of the competition structure and how the champions are determined (unlike some Wire fans).

The question is, if Huddersfield win, will Tony Smith's head explode? :lol:

Well given how we are having a complete overhaul of the competition structure I guess you should start listening to some Wire fans eh?

I doubt his head will explode. Not sure why you think it would. It is a cup comp. It is all down to the best team on the day. You win some, you lose some. A top way to decide league champions.

WireMan will be hoping for a Huddersfield win won't he so that the "real" champions have a chance of being recognised as such by winning the "Sky Cup"?

Huddersfield should already be the "real" champions of the league. They won the thing.

We are now playing in the sky cup on a Thursday night.

Yeah that is right, we are playing a midweek cup game to determine if the team that finished top of the league should be the champions of the league.

Only on educating Yorkshire would that be in anyway a good thing.


I'll support my own team thanks.
The more clubs who know the current system is a joke the better. I hope if the Giants lose it does not effect their league crowds to much.

 

[LeedsStorm]

Well given how we are having a complete overhaul of the competition structure I guess you should start listening to some Wire fans eh?

I doubt his head will explode. Not sure why you think it would. It is a cup comp. It is all down to the best team on the day. You win some, you lose some. A top way to decide league champions.



Huddersfield should already be the "real" champions of the league. They won the thing.

We are now playing in the sky cup on a Thursday night.

Yeah that is right, we are playing a midweek cup game to determine if the team that finished top of the league should be the champions of the league.

Only on educating Yorkshire would that be in anyway a good thing.


I'll support my own team thanks.
The more clubs who know the current system is a joke the better. I hope if the Giants lose it does not effect their league crowds to much.

Blah blah blah, moan moan moan. You've basically just admitted to wanting to scrap the playoffs because your team haven't been good enough to win. If you think they will scrap the playoffs in the restructure, you are going to be very disappointed. Bad news for us because frankly, it is tiresome reading your petulant nonsense. Tony smith has put his side under way more pressure by publicly sulking over clubcall. He's basically just shown Huddersfield he thinks they have an advantage. Probably better to moan about it during the off season, or actually vote against when you actually had the chance.

Wire have the best chance in years to be champions with a great side playing attractive rugby and all you can hear coming out of Cheshire is moaning. Least hull fans have something to be aggrieved about....

 

[LeedsRhinos]

Warrington running scared of the Rhinos!

 

[WireMan]

Blah blah blah, moan moan moan. You've basically just admitted to wanting to scrap the playoffs because your team haven't been good enough to win. If you think they will scrap the playoffs in the restructure, you are going to be very disappointed. Bad news for us because frankly, it is tiresome reading your petulant nonsense. Tony smith has put his side under way more pressure by publicly sulking over clubcall. He's basically just shown Huddersfield he thinks they have an advantage. Probably better to moan about it during the off season, or actually vote against when you actually had the chance.

Wire have the best chance in years to be champions with a great side playing attractive rugby and all you can hear coming out of Cheshire is moaning. Least hull fans have something to be aggrieved about....

:lol:

What are you going on about? Why lie?

It is a stupid system where the Giants have to play a midweek cup game to try and become champions of a league they have already won. You know this, I know this.

Yet I don't like the system because my team isn't good enough to win? Pathetic.

Also stop pretending Smith has just started moaning about clubcall, he has constantly done this since it was first made up. As have a lot of people. It is a stupid gimmick. He just started? Pathetic.

We have told Hudds they have the advantage? Well ok, I don't know your logic but I am sure it is good.

I have told you why we didn't vote against it, so why you bring it up again I have no clue.


I am not against using playoffs to decide who champions are.
I am against adding a cup comp to the end of a league for the benefit if a tv channel.
If we want to follow an American/Australian system then lets do that.
If we want a unique two leagues of twelve into 8 then ok, let us see how they are going to get that to work.

At the moment we have a league which is pointless. Fans know this. Crowds are down, no one watches playoff matches, teams rest players all the time, teams are struggling financially and we just lost our most marketable star to New Zealand.

 

[LeedsStorm]

:lol:

What are you going on about? Why lie?

It is a stupid system where the Giants have to play a midweek cup game to try and become champions of a league they have already won. You know this, I know this.

Yet I don't like the system because my team isn't good enough to win? Pathetic.

Also stop pretending Smith has just started moaning about clubcall, he has constantly done this since it was first made up. As have a lot of people. It is a stupid gimmick. He just started? Pathetic.

We have told Hudds they have the advantage? Well ok, I don't know your logic but I am sure it is good.

I have told you why we didn't vote against it, so why you bring it up again I have no clue.


I am not against using playoffs to decide who champions are.
I am against adding a cup comp to the end of a league for the benefit if a tv channel.
If we want to follow an American/Australian system then lets do that.
If we want a unique two leagues of twelve into 8 then ok, let us see how they are going to get that to work.

At the moment we have a league which is pointless. Fans know this. Crowds are down, no one watches playoff matches, teams rest players all the time, teams are struggling financially and we just lost our most marketable star to New Zealand.

That probably makes perfect sense in your own head. To the rest of us it looks contradictory. If i interpret correctly, you've now changed your mind and decided the playoffs are actually a sound way of deciding the champions. Reduce to a top 5 playoff in the restructure (which we all seem to agree on) and make sure the games are on a weekend, we are all happy. Excellent. Please stop moaning.

One more question. Why doesn't Tony Smith like clubcall? Thinking it is a gimmick is not a valid reason - certainly not enough to attract a 10K fine for your club.

And before you start wrongly calling me an 8 year old troll, what are everyone's predictions for the great games we are all anticipating (except wireman)?

All yorkshire final for me, though I wouldn't begrudge anyone else a GF win except Wigan. Apologies, that objection runs deep

 

[CC_Roosters]

Don't know who to pick in wigan v leeds, 50/50 call there imo.

Looking at their past 5 meetings on the super league website, huddersfield haven't beaten wire at all. But would love to see them at the big game so will back them.

 

[JonNgog]

Wouldn't be all that surprised if Wigan won.. they seem a lot better at winning when it matters this year.

 

[WireMan]

That probably makes perfect sense in your own head. To the rest of us it looks contradictory. If i interpret correctly, you've now changed your mind and decided the playoffs are actually a sound way of deciding the champions. Reduce to a top 5 playoff in the restructure (which we all seem to agree on) and make sure the games are on a weekend, we are all happy. Excellent. Please stop moaning.

I don't know why you keep trying to find contradictions. It does you no credit.

A competition decided on playoffs like NFL is great.
A competition decided using a league is great.

A competition where you have a league which is then rendered pointless by a playoff is terrible. Especially when the teams need the league games to stay in business.

Anyways, as we all know the system is changing soon, so I am leaving it there. You like it, I don't. No point carrying on, no one is going to change their mind.

One more question. Why doesn't Tony Smith like clubcall? Thinking it is a gimmick is not a valid reason - certainly not enough to attract a 10K fine for your club.

:lol:
Not Valid? Behave yourself.
It will hopefully be gone soon when the structure changes.





Anyways, it is nearly game time.

I will predict a Warrington win, as we have beat them a few times. It will be a close one though and Hudds will be up for it. Although any player who needs extra motivation at this stage of the season is in the wrong line of work.
The team that can keep the other teams Half the quietest will win. If Briers batters another second row to fire him up like vs Leeds then Warrington will win. If Brough finally proves he can cope with a big game then Hudds have to be favourite.

Wigan vs Leeds should be close. Both teams know what it is like to win a GF and it is Tomkins last home game. As much as you cannot write Leeds of in a playoff you cannot write Wigan off either as they are a very capable side.

I have a feeling the Tomkins factor will see them through though.

So Warrington vs Wigan in the final.
But it could just as easily be Hudds vs Leeds!! :lol:

 

[Harrigan]

The funny thing is, of the 118 years RL has been going in this country, the champions have been decided by who comes top of the league on just 30 odd occasions.

Wiremans rationale that it's sky who have decided this in the SL era is way off the mark. The "Sky Cup" was deciding the champions of British RL before TV was even invented! Never mind cable or satellite.

 

[WireMan]

The funny thing is, of the 118 years RL has been going in this country, the champions have been decided by who comes top of the league on just 30 odd occasions.

Wiremans rationale that it's sky who have decided this in the SL era is way off the mark. The "Sky Cup" was deciding the champions of British RL before TV was even invented! Never mind cable or satellite.

Well that is a very good history lesson.

However...

The current system was set up in super league 3. This was because Sky wanted a show piece final and they were not allowed the Challenge cup due to its protected status (certain sports have to be shown on free to air, Challenge cup final, FA cup final, World cup, Grand national etc.)

Previous to this the last time the league was decided by playoffs and not league standing was the 1972-73 season!
This was because the top league had 30 teams in it. You played your local rivals twice and the lot from the other side of the Pennines once.

Therefore you needed a comp at the end to see who the best was.
No problems with that (except Warrington finished top that year, but Dewsbury were champs!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972–73_Northern_Rugby_Football_League_season

After that it the comp was spilt into divisions, where teams played each other twice. The team at the top won and were league champions.

There was always an after season comp, called the premiership. This was given extra meaning by Sky. Not when super league was formed, a few seasons later. By Sky, for Sky. The Sky cup.

 

[LeedsStorm]

Well that is a very good history lesson.

However...

The current system was set up in super league 3. This was because Sky wanted a show piece final and they were not allowed the Challenge cup due to its protected status (certain sports have to be shown on free to air, Challenge cup final, FA cup final, World cup, Grand national etc.)

Previous to this the last time the league was decided by playoffs and not league standing was the 1972-73 season!
This was because the top league had 30 teams in it. You played your local rivals twice and the lot from the other side of the Pennines once.

Therefore you needed a comp at the end to see who the best was.
No problems with that (except Warrington finished top that year, but Dewsbury were champs!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972–73_Northern_Rugby_Football_League_season

After that it the comp was spilt into divisions, where teams played each other twice. The team at the top won and were league champions.

There was always an after season comp, called the premiership. This was given extra meaning by Sky. Not when super league was formed, a few seasons later. By Sky, for Sky. The Sky cup.

Seriously. Please stop moaning

 

[Patorick]

Huddersfield have been dreadful so far.

Doing well to be 6-6 after 20 minutes.

 

[Harrigan]

Huddersfield's forwards haven't been able to reach playoff intensity which is unsurprising really as they aren't really used to these big games.

Warrington, Wigan, Leeds and even Saints have all gone in like there's no tomorrow in these playoffs. Hudds are playing like its a regular league game and that doesn't cut it.

 

[Patorick]

Clubcall survived.

Well done Warrington.

 

[LeedsStorm]

Great game, but lots of dropped ball. Is this the dreaded rhino ball or two poor teams in the wet?

Got to hand it to briers. He may have the weakest punch in rugby league history, but he's a great competitor (legally or right on the borderline).

Step up Wigan and Leeds. Hopefully another belter

 

[Harrigan]

Two great defences tomorrow night. I think it'll be something like 14-12 either way.

 

[deluded pom?]

Was it wet? It hasn't rained here in Hull for over a week. It didn't look wet and the commentators never alluded to it being wet.

 

[Harrigan]

It was dry but it gets dewy this time of year at night. TBF I didn't see many unforced errors last night. Every dropped ball seemed to be in collision or at least under pressure (apart from the young full back who was too casual). It never crossed my mind at the time that there were that many dropped balls throughout the game anyway.

 

[LeedsStorm]

It was dry but it gets dewy this time of year at night. TBF I didn't see many unforced errors last night. Every dropped ball seemed to be in collision or at least under pressure (apart from the young full back who was too casual). It never crossed my mind at the time that there were that many dropped balls throughout the game anyway.

Kidding? At least three tries consequential of handling howlers.

 

[JasonE]

I quite enjoyed the game and Warrington deserved the win without playing anywhere near their best, who knows they might produce that next week.

Huddersfield never quite got their passing game together and Ferres going off injured was a big loss for them. Jake Connor looked classy and you would think he will take a lot out of that experience.