Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sat Aug 24, 2019 10:23 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

The 2017 Saints side (including the appalling KC coached version) did beat the 2017 Cas side, twice, let alone the 2019 version.

We were awful all that year but would have knocked them out of the play-offs but for giving away a ludicrous late penalty for shepherding then losing on golden point.

This Saints team is WAY better than that Saints team and also better than the 2017 Cas side (in my opinion of course). I think Cas lost five out of 30 that year, Saints have lost three so far, but two of those with deliberately weakened teams.

But none of that will count for anything if we don't pick up a trophy - we will just be another impressive Saints side that didn't fulfil its potential.

Well said.

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:43 pm  

Massive pressure now on the Saints to win the GF
Winning the SL regular season by such a wide margin is impressive but it doesn't guarantee you will smoke the winners cigar on GF day

Sides currently well below them in the league table will be rubbing their hands together once the knock out footy starts as they know that this Saints side isn't as invincible as their league position indicates

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sat Aug 24, 2019 8:41 pm  

I called Wigan winning the grand final a while back now. Saints can’t do finals.

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sun Aug 25, 2019 5:13 am  

They must be worried at the moment. To lose two grand finals in a row after being so dominant must be a daunting prospect

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:30 am  

As I said the other day. They are far from world beaters.

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sun Aug 25, 2019 8:31 am  

The Eagle wrote:

They must be worried at the moment. To lose two grand finals in a row after being so dominant must be a daunting prospect

They didn't even make the one last year. They choked in the home semi (to Warrington, who else).

Did we break St Helens? : Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:13 am  

I look back to that night at Knowsley Road in the playoffs in September 2007, when we lost.

At that point in time Saints were the dominant team, they had done a treble the previous year, had just won the Challenge Cup yet again and had an enviable record in finals, having won 6 of 7 SL era Challenge Cup finals and all 4 Grand Finals they'd appeared in.

We lost that qualifier but it was brutal and we knew we could beat them if we got to the final, which we did. They were rightly the favourites again but we absolutely destroyed them. And from then on, year after year, we kept on beating them when it mattered so that it became embarrassing. And now, even when they have another great team, so strong is the legacy of and culture of losing big games that's been passed on from playing group to playing group that they just can't snap out of it.

I'm not saying I feel bad about this but I do think it's another legacy of that great Leeds team.

Re: SL RD 26 | St Helens (H) : Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:30 am  

It all makes the run in to the GF very interesting can Saints shed the Bottler tag and Wire know winning the CC doesnt exorcise the " our year curse"

Re: Did we break St Helens? : Sun Aug 25, 2019 9:32 am  

The Ghost of '99 wrote:

I look back to that night at Knowsley Road in the playoffs in September 2007, when we lost.

At that point in time Saints were the dominant team, they had done a treble the previous year, had just won the Challenge Cup yet again and had an enviable record in finals, having won 6 of 7 SL era Challenge Cup finals and all 4 Grand Finals they'd appeared in.

We lost that qualifier but it was brutal and we knew we could beat them if we got to the final, which we did. They were rightly the favourites again but we absolutely destroyed them. And from then on, year after year, we kept on beating them when it mattered so that it became embarrassing. And now, even when they have another great team, so strong is the legacy of and culture of losing big games that's been passed on from playing group to playing group that they just can't snap out of it.

I'm not saying I feel bad about this but I do think it's another legacy of that great Leeds team.

At the end of that 07 semi Saints looked beaten their body language showed it in the final too

Re: Did we break St Helens? : Sun Aug 25, 2019 7:16 pm  

I'm not sure about that but there is a huge issue in big games for the Saints club. They would likely have lost the semi were it against any SL club with how they played and the one final they did scrape over the line this decade in 2014 it was mainly down the early send off.

After that i just can't back Saints for the GF despite their huge superiority in regular rounds.