Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:41 am  

Taking a beating off the relatives here. I suggested that tonight was the best victory in the club's history. We started the season well, looking impressive at times with a big pack and one quality halfback. We then suffered several gutless, pathetic defeats in big games and the wheels truly came off what had seemed like a GF winning bandwagon for the first couple of months. We then struggled to put any real fluidity or consistent form together and lost our one quality halfback, along with our second pivot in Lomax and another organiser in Wilkin. So season over at the point. I was 100% convinced, as were most on here. The club seemed to be in freefall, losing consecutive games to end the season trophyless, only for Cas to help us out by losing to Catalans.

So we faced a Cas side that were out of gas after reaching Wembley and losing. We then played Catalans in exactly the same condition and reached OT, without really doing anything to warrant it.

OT arrives and most give us no hope, us included. Even Wello admitted after the game that he'd lied all week in press conferences, the players no doubt knew it was unlikely too. Flower goes and does us a massive favour by getting himself sent off and rather than panic as we would have done previously, we played the percentage game, defended incredibly and ground them out of the game. The pack were superb, Makinson made several brilliant tackles and some of the desperate cover defense was incredible. Wigan were still dangerous, looking far more fluid with the ball and making several more breaks than we did. Yet they did it, they won the Grand Final and it was clear what it meant to that group of players. I've been critical of Brown in his time here, but something definitely changed for the play offs. They will say it was them stepping up to meet the challenge, but it wasn't. The defensive shape changed, the kick chases went from nothing to a wall of white and took Wigan's back 3 out of the game, as they did to Cas and Catalans too.

So for me, winning the Grand Final with no half backs means it's our best win ever.

Re: Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 12:56 am  

Agreed... But it wasn't better than my post!

Re: Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:02 am  

Any win in a Grand Final is special, and although you can analyse the 80 minutes over and over again, and maybe spot loads of things which didn't go to plan, but..... the bottom line was the look on Wellan's face at the end.

Totally deserved, and lots of applause from this side of the pennines.

Re: Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:16 am  

Our greatest win to be sure. And it wouldn't have happened without Paul Wellens who enters the annals now as one of out greatest captains. He epitomises everything that makes saints an absolutely top club that I have supported for nearly 50 years, and follows on from the likes of Kel Coslet and and Chris Jount and KC, inspirational leaders who can find something extra when it's needed to win the big trophys. Take a bow Wello

Re: Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:19 am  

Not sure our greatest win but certainly the sweetest

Re: Our best ever win... or not : Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:34 am  

I thought one of our grand final games against the Bulls was the best one, but yeterdays was the most satisfying one.

After our game against the wire I was giving our chances at around 80/20 after the play offs around 70/30 once I heard MM wasn,t playing I was thinking 60/40.
There were quite a few indicators we could pull it off prior to the game in the deprting players and coach and the narrative of Amor.

Also we were wtitten by all the media so there was no presssure.
Yesterday was the greatest win against the Mongrelism of Thugby.