BP1:Mrs Barista:
Treble winners elect march on. First of three chalked off.
Back on your favourite subject, Mrs B!!
As you say, the Challenge Cup is now on the sideboard (hope they cleared away the forty years worth of dust before doing so!). It will be a major surprise if they don't finish in the top two, so the LLS is a 50/50 chance, and if they do finish in the top two it will be another major surprise if they aren't lining up in at Old Trafford, hence they also have a 50/50 chance of winning there. It's becoming increasingly rare these days for the top two to fail to make the GF.
So yes, a treble is a possibility but at this point that's all it is, a possibility, no more. Where you and I disagree, I think, is that you talk of it as a done deal, as if nothing on Earth can prevent it, whereas I feel there is far too much rugby still to be played for anything to be a done deal.
You seem curiously dismissive of Wigan being capable of stopping rovers in their tracks (the Wigan team that have already bested rovers once this year). The Grand Final, and retention of their SL title, will now be the focus of everything for Wigan and I still feel that Wigan at their best would triumph over rovers at their equal best, especially at the point when it truly matters.
I also wonder whether of not rovers can maintain their high-intensity brand of rugby all the way to the end of what would be a 34 game season for them, we shall see on that score. I still feel that, at some point in the remainder of the season, they will experience a drop-off in performance level. It is incredibly difficult for any side to play at close to maximum for a lengthy period, and it wouldn't take too much of a drop in performance level for them to become vulnerable, as witnessed yesterday.
Don't forget that on the opening night of the season, if Harry Smith had popped over the golden-point drop goal rather than Gareth O'Brien then Wigan would right now be sat on top of the table, small margins and all that. Rovers potentially may only need to slip up once and your vaunted treble could disappear in a puff of smoke! Think how funny it would be if were to go to CP in October and be the ones to shatter their dreams, unlikely but you never know in this game!!!
It's not my favourite subject per se but IMO Rovers now are like Wigan of old- hugely consistent (one loss since the Grand Final), a super-fit deep squad and top notch mentality. I do think others struggle to appreciate how good they are because they don't like them. I agree they weren't at their best yesterday but the result will simply cement their confidence to drag themselves out of late match jeopardy. Like any Hull fan I don't like it, but I accept it. Of course they may slip up, but my opinion is they won't.
