Prior to Super 8s each team has played 23 games, ie. each other team home and away plus the Magic Weekend fixture. After the 23 games, the top 8 teams are therefore the ones in Super 8s. These teams then play each other with the points from the regular season being carried forward. Each team therefore plays 7 games, 4 at home and 3 away dependent upon where you finished in the table after your 23 games. Once all the games have been played, the top four placings play semi finals (1v4 and 2v3) for a place in the Grand Final at Old Trafford. The winners at Old Trafford are the champions! There are 12 teams in Super League. The bottom 4 teams at the 23 games stage then play in the Middle 8s, which follows a similar pattern to Super 8s, the other 4 teams being from the league below, the Championship. They play for a single place in the Super League.

Darreners ! I spoke initially to one of the lassies behind the bar that took the drinks order and then Mrs CLB had a word with a guy that could have been the bar manager, not sure. I wasn't too bothered about kicking up a big fuss and the Amalfi Lounge proved to be a better option in the long run. We did consider going to one or two of the places you mentioned but we were only nipping out for a quick bar snack and the Amalfi Lounge is local to us. No massive deal at the end of the day. I was a bit miffed on the night but have chilled a bit since!

Cheers PB

Went to the Royal Oak at Riley Green last night only to be refused food. We've been going there on and off for over 35 years. In recent years food ordering cut off time has been 8 for 8.30. We arrived at 7.15 to be told that unless we had booked we couldn't order. We pointed out that they had a sign outside saying food served until 9pm but it cut no ice. The place was pleasantly full but not rammed by any means and 15 mins after we arrived, the whole of the end room was empty except for us and another couple who had also been refused. To make matters worse, I had already ordered and paid for our drinks before they let us know the situation. Very poor do and I won't set foot in that place again. We ventured on to the Amalfi Lounge in Darwen where they were more than happy to serve us. Great food, great service and great value for money, as usual.

Bar Stuards! Didn't see it but seemed like a cracker as well. How's life in the West Midlans GAV? Was it work that took you down there?

Wigan have been rather hit and miss lately but a great game on Thursday night against a very good Leeds side. Both sides had a sprinkling of players out injured. Took my mate who thoroughly enjoyed it. Mentions for Matty Bowen who played well and also a good kicking game from Matty Smith who held his nerve at the death to give Wigan the win by two points. I think Wigan fans have been a bit down due to our form, especially away from the DW, but when I look at our squad we are more than capable of beating anyone put before us. The pack need to generally up the ante and carry on from their performance on Thursday and we won 't be far off.

Whilst Fish was lead singer of Marillion, I had every album and single on vinyl. Just (finally) updated my cd collection to include the first four studio albums. Not a bad track to be seen or heard. Going to be some happy motoring over the next few days!

Visited the Aspinall Arms this lunchtime at Mitton on the banks of the Ribble. Our first time here since the extension and refurbishment. Very nice indeed in a lovely setting. Good service and tasty food, Ribble Valley prices but these were obviously expected. Sat outside due to the sunny, warm weather and the place was pleasantly full bearing in mind it was Friday, rather than weekend. A mention also for the Chetham Arms in Chapeltown, inbetween God's Country and Bolton. The pub has had a makeover. Good food at very competitive prices. Unfortunately a few photos of BWFC fans on the walls but there's time for me to get them to see sense.

Cracking game today, not in the sense of a classic, but a good old fashioned game of Rugby League with both sets of players giving their all. Everyone (players) out on their feet at the end and there will be some very sore bodies in the morning. Edge of the seat entertainment.

Tried the Higher Buck in Waddington on Sunday, first time here for ages and first time since refurbishment and change of ownership. Very nicely done inside and the food was excellent too. A bit on the pricey side - £14 for Sunday roast - but what you'd expect to pay in this type of establishment in the Ribble Valley.

A mixture of reasons den. Lima, Finch and Hoffman came to us because of Melbourne's problems with the salary cap. Hoffman returned after one year, the other two after two. Pat Richards returned home after seven years here. George Carmont retired and Sam Tomkins and Lee Mossop went to the NRL to further their careers. It seemed like there was a mass exodus to the NRL when in fact most of it was coincidental and happened over a couple of years. Other fringe (but still decent) players moved to Super League clubs, like Matty Russell to Warrington. The good side of all this is that it has opened doors for the youngsters mentioned above. The average age of the starting 13 at Salford on Thursday was an incredible 21 and we had only one overseas player in Anthony Gelling. This has not gone unnoticed and we are actually receiving praise from other Super League supporters and especially the way Shaun Wane is promoting youth. The problem initially from a Wigan perspective was that top players like Tomkins and Mossop were chosing to leave one of the best clubs in England to ply their trade down under. This after all the other returning players to the NRL and additional rumours that Charnley and Scott Taylor were likely to follow. It felt like a mass exodus was taking place whilst a club like Leeds was able to keep their side intact and, indeed, add to it. A few other Super League clubs have/will have returning Aussies but these are relatively low key and I can't think of any other quality English players from here that have agreed to move in the same direction as Tomkins. Money talks in Rugby League as it does in other sports. Unfortunately we don't have much of it. We are the poor relations financially to both the NRL (triple our salary cap) and Rugby Union. The lack of action by the RFL means our tv and sponsorship money is dwarfed by the two other bodies just mentioned. You can't blame players for wanting to up their earning potential and securing their futures financially. Until the RFL get their act together (no one is holding their breath) Super League's loss will be Union's/NRL's gain.

Credit to the club and Shaun Wane in particular for the way youth is being given a chance. We've lost so many quality players over the last three years or so it's untrue and this season we've been hit by injuries very badly. You've got to say the most recent crop of young 'uns is extremely talented - Hampshire, Powell, Williams, Manfredi and Burgess to name just five - but because of the way they've been eased in to the side, it's worked seamlessly. The last three wins, all on the road, against Hull FC, Leeds and Salford have been nothing short of superb, especially the Magic Weekend Leeds game where I honestly thought we would have been on the end of a 20+ beating.

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, but we tried the Glass House at Ribchester on Sunday. Very good too. Lunch menu, two mains, two desserts, a 500ml beer, a wine and two coffees, all came in at £39, which for Ribble Valley dining is reasonable enough. Will definitely return.

Great weekend for Wigan but that scoreline just isn't good for the game. Superb wins for Widnes and Cas.

Do they still play at Wrexham's ground TS? I had a good day out there two or three seasons back, reliving my visits to the Racecourse in the 70s when watching the Rovers. Three sides of the ground were the same but a small, but nice, new main stand had gone up down the side.

Well, it doesn't get much better than today. Wigan have been indifferent this season to say the least but today we were excellent. Everyone put in a shift and more, especially Lockers. Smithy's kicking was sublime, easily his best game of the season. Special praise also for Matty Bowen who now seems to have settled in and is enjoying his rugby. We upped the ante in the second half and there was only going to be one winner. Nice and warm, clear blue skies, near full house and a packed East Stand full of Cherry and White in fine voice. 4000+ Wiganers went home very happy.

Not a good performance today by Wigan. Poor discipline with penalty after penalty given away and rank defending especially down our left hand side. First half even stevens but we never competed in the second half. We somehow managed to go over at the death, Smithy finally kicked one through from out wide and then we went one in front from a drop goal. Two minutes left and we couldn't see the game out and in the end got what we deserved.

Yep, the kicking could cost us in the tighter games against the likes of Leeds, Warrington, Saints etc. Obviously doesn't matter too much against the likes of Wakey. Had heard the Charnley and Taylor rumours to Union and the NRL but the Mickey Mack story was news to me. NRL as well?

Agree with that. I've got very good vibes about Bateman. He has some strength and I think he'll develop into a real star. It did say on the website that Warriors World was closed today The shirt is really nice. I wore mine for the first time today.

Al, Al........Al. You're tying yourself in knots here You started the whole argument off by saying Wigan were the MU of Rugby League. Our supporters weren't mentioned at all, you simply said we'd buy our way out of trouble. We are not in trouble and both koi and myself outlined reasons why we are not like MU, ie. no particular excessive spending and an investment in youth. In fact, you replied to my response by saying you knew very little about Rugby League and you were just going off what others had said. Tyrone then said you weren't wrong and started having a go at Wigan, not the club but their support. Make up your minds lads. Yes, other fans do go on about the 'Wigan Walk.' For your information, this is when a tiny proportion our fans sometimes leave early when the team are getting beaten, say 10 mins or so before the end of the game. It's been a bit like when Burnley fans used to claim an away support of 5k or so for each away game. Say it ad infinitum and it eventually sticks. No fans of any other RL team leave early when they losing.....ever! Anyway, this is the last I'll post in this little spat, it's diverting things away from general good discussion. I've stopped posting on the main Messageboard because all and sundry seem to want to moan and argue. Please (you two) don't turn this particular thread into the same. Roll on tomorrow and all things Rugby League.

Well, it started off as 'Wigan are the MU of Rugby League.' When it was proved that the club, in fact, wasn't, you then moved on to having a go at the supporters instead. When I found out you were a Hornets fan, Tyrone, as well as being a Rover, I was looking forward to having some good discussions with you. I've only been involved in RL for around fifteen years and always found a sort of togetherness with RL supporters of various clubs. You seem to to be a bit of a mystery in that regard, or should I have typed misery?

That's because you intended it to, Al. I've noticed your sniping with one or two folk on the main forum.

We're not in trouble, Al and there's a salary cap in place which means we can't spend any more than the other Super League clubs. That's assuming all clubs want to spend up to the limit. They don't, including Wigan. In practice we'll spend a bit more than some, less than others and as koi mentions, we continue to invest heavily in our youth system.

Hi Clare - you back now? Hope you've taken plenty of good photos of your visit to Sydney!

Wigan will be fine, Norbert. I wouldn't necessarily say the best but along with Warrington, Leeds and to a lesser degree Huddersfield, we've been up there. The last four seasons have brought in five pieces of silverware, two Grand Final wins (champions), two Challenge Cup wins and a League Leaders Shield (no sniggering at the back). Over the same period we've lost so many quality players, there are just too many to mention. Some were at the end of their contracts, a few went back to Australia, the odd one retired and a few were effectively poached. No other team in British RL have recently lost as many players over the same time period and no ther other team would have been able to cope. Wigan have a youth system second to none (ok, Leeds and Warrington's are good too) and over the last two seasons have bloodied a variety of youngsters, so much so that there are now several both in the first team and knocking on the first team door that could still be playing for the under 19s. For three of the last four seasons Wigan have come hurtling out of the starting blocks battering anyone in their way (Warrington apart) but in two of those seasons (2011 & 2012) we simply ran out of steam come the business end of the season. However, we changed things last season. Leeds twice winning the GF from 5th and rotating/resting players gave other clubs food for thought and last season we adopted the Leeds approach and at the same time gave increased game time to some of the youngsters. It paid dividends with the double win. That leads me onto our 'shaky' start this year. A loss to a very good Huddersfield side when we had our minds on the World Club Challenge in Sydney, a deserved win against NRL side New Zealand Warriors and the 'should have done a bit better' defeat to the Roosters. Yes, a bit shaky but, as I've said, going all out to win every game isn't the thing any more assuming you have the ability to be in the mix come August, September and October. Sorry for going on a bit but hopefully that explains things a bit. If you ever fancy taking a game in at the DW, let me know.