MattyB wrote:I think someone said he was quoted as saying something like "at the beginning of the season if you'd have told me we would win the WCC and appeared in the CC Final I would have taken it".
I've not seen this quote anywhere but assume this is where the "it's okay we are world club champions" has originated from.
I am curious did he actually say this?
It does seem unlikely doesn't it? At the beginning of every season he wants to win the lot. I doubt that will change.
"Imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try No hell below us, above us only pie"(John Ono Lennon born Wigan 1940)
Joined: Dec 22 2001 Posts: 14395 Location: Chester
Aboveusonlypie wrote:It's a bit daft playing down the significance of being World Champions. Only Wigan fans could do that. Just one side from Super League gets a crack at it and it's rare that we beat the Aussies nowadays. Now we are using it as a stick to beat the coach with. Amazing!
Wane has not done well this season as I'm sure he knows only too well. But I've NEVER heard him use the excuse of "we're world champions". If he has please provide a link and I'll happily apologise.
Winning the WCC was great but if it is being used as a stick to beat him up with, it is because it was 7 months ago and what came after was rubbish. He was given leeway when there were injuries but even then the writing was on the wall as we managed to snatch defeats or draws from the jaws of victory. We won the WCC and the wheels came off. It's a paradox so it's not surprising it is mentioned.
I wonder though if we had gone on to win either the CC or GF if the WCC would get mentioned at all other than as in "..and we won the WCC as well". Would it be seen as the clubs crowning glory this season ahead of either domestic competition? I have my doubts.
Last league derby at Central Park 5/9/1999: Wigan 28 St. Helens 20 Last league derby at Knowsley Road 2/4/2010: St. Helens 10 Wigan 18
I still don't know how seriously the WCC is taken in Australia.
Okay, they specialise in making excuses whenever they lose, but I doubt any of them ever come over intending not to try.
But let's be honest, it's not really a fair assessment of where the participating teams actually stand.
The early season factor is massive. Neither side is fit, neither is really in the swing of it. It doesn't surprise me that British teams have won many more of these fixtures than they have Test matches, because it's much more of a lottery.
It shouldn't be underestimated, of course. It IS silverware, and it IS to Shaun Wane's credit that he won one for us in 2017. But that first month of the season was so different from everything that followed that it now feels like a lifetime ago. I wonder what chance we'd have stood if we'd played that game in August.
Cruncher wrote:I still don't know how seriously the WCC is taken in Australia.
Okay, they specialise in making excuses whenever they lose, but I doubt any of them ever come over intending not to try.
But let's be honest, it's not really a fair assessment of where the participating teams actually stand.
The early season factor is massive. Neither side is fit, neither is really in the swing of it. It doesn't surprise me that British teams have won many more of these fixtures than they have Test matches, because it's much more of a lottery.
It shouldn't be underestimated, of course. It IS silverware, and it IS to Shaun Wane's credit that he won one for us in 2017. But that first month of the season was so different from everything that followed that it now feels like a lifetime ago. I wonder what chance we'd have stood if we'd played that game in August.
I think the early season factor and them having to fly round the world is easily offset by the difference in the level of player NRL clubs can attract these days given the difference in the salary cap, origin/test selection opportunities etc. It probably doesn't really show that we are better than Cronulla, but does show that we are (well, were) ahead of other SL teams given that SL teams have won only 2 of the last 10 games.
Frank Zappa wrote:Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.
The_Enforcer wrote:Most idiotic post ever goes to Grimmy..... The way to restart should be an arm wrestle between a designated player from each side.
Grimmy wrote:I think the early season factor and them having to fly round the world is easily offset by the difference in the level of player NRL clubs can attract these days given the difference in the salary cap, origin/test selection opportunities etc. It probably doesn't really show that we are better than Cronulla, but does show that we are (well, were) ahead of other SL teams given that SL teams have won only 2 of the last 10 games.
I would never try to deny the honour that victory brought to the club. Any victory over an top Aussie team has to be a good one. But as Dave O said - and most people know that Dave and I don't always see eye to eye - what happened afterwards put a different perspective on things. Wigan were so hopeless in 2017 that you can't help but wonder what was going on that day we beat Cronulla.
I'm prepared to accept the argument that we were simply brilliant ... but even so, playing like that once in a season is nowhere near enough.
Joined: Jul 04 2005 Posts: 903 Location: Formerly of Whelley via The River Caves, but now in the next best thing, Chorley!
DaveO wrote:Winning the WCC was great but if it is being used as a stick to beat him up with, it is because it was 7 months ago and what came after was rubbish. He was given leeway when there were injuries but even then the writing was on the wall as we managed to snatch defeats or draws from the jaws of victory. We won the WCC and the wheels came off. It's a paradox so it's not surprising it is mentioned.
I wonder though if we had gone on to win either the CC or GF if the WCC would get mentioned at all other than as in "..and we won the WCC as well". Would it be seen as the clubs crowning glory this season ahead of either domestic competition? I have my doubts.
The wheels didn't come off following the WCC match as we were looking like a pretty good, threatening team when we played Wire in March. A dodgy draw v Hudds and a narrow loss to Hull in the following weeks were arguably the start of our decline this season.
'Do you remember when we had that meeting in Orlando? We talked about how we were knocked out the previous year by Leeds. And at the end, I asked you one question. "Do you want to be a semi-final team? Or do you want to do something special?" You all said you wanted to win. But talking is easy – it needed you to believe. It needed you to work hard – harder than you had – and make sacrifices. You did all that. you worked for each other. You stuck together when it was tough. And because of your efforts, you sit here tonight as champions. I'm proud of you. Be proud of yourselves. You've done something special.' Shaun Wane's post-Grand Final speech. 5th October 2013.
ksm1701 wrote:The wheels didn't come off following the WCC match as we were looking like a pretty good, threatening team when we played Wire in March. A dodgy draw v Hudds and a narrow loss to Hull in the following weeks were arguably the start of our decline this season.
The dodgey draw was a decent result all things considered. We lost Lockers and Sutton within the 1st 8 minutes and we already had a few missing.
In fairness to Wane with that comment, there was a thread on here before the Cronulla game asking if winning that and nothing else would be deemed a success and a good few said yet.
As I said at the time, this side has too many quality players in it to be happy that just that win. It's been a poor season but as I've posted a few times, it's a sign of the club bs standing and ambition when you feel a poor season is becoming world champions, appearing in a cup final and winning your 8th academy title in 10 years.
Joined: Jun 29 2011 Posts: 1522 Location: PIE IN THE SKY DISH
If SW's future was to be decided by the video ref it would be a try on the field (winning the WCC) and inconclusive evidence to overrule the on field decision, and that's after watching the replays for about 15 minutes....
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