It used to be the case it was against the rules to field anything but your strongest side. A few seasons back the RFL tried to fine Saints £25K for not doing that until it was pointed out to them that the wording of the rules had been changed which basically meant you didn't need to any more.



That fiasco is what led to coaches having to name their teams in advance and have to pick it from the named 19 so fans didn't turn up expecting the 1st team only to find a team of reserves playing instead.



The trouble is even with a 19 man squad as we saw today you can still end up with a surprise selection and players such as Lockers dropped unexpectedly meaning the fans still feel short changed.



So while it is highly unlikely Wigan would be fined I certainly would not mind them getting a letter off the RFL telling the club not to take the mickey. Anything to stop Wane making the same mistake twice.

The rules are very clear you must put out your strongest team a 4 point deduction and a fine

Can you please provide a link to that or quote the relevant passage from the rule book? Thanks

I agree with DaveO





How angry am I today? Exceedingly. I found out on Friday that Pat and Tommy were out, today I see three more first team players 'rested' and I spent over £120 in fuel and tickets to watch what was basically an under twenties game. I saw these guys for free at Aldershot last year playing against London.

As DaveO has said, I've been ripped off. Where's Wane's promise that he wants to win every game? What a joke. Yes there's a time and place for bringing the youngsters through, but IMHO Wane needs to admit he completely screwed up today.

i can't believe people on here basically saying 2 points don't matter in march, if that is the case we might as well stop going to matches until august/september. how come all of a sudden a game doesn't seem to matter at this stage of the season. does that mean if we lose to warrington and saints that won't matter either.

The rules state a club can pick any of its nominated first team squad of 25 any time it likes. That covers the selection of several of the younger players today.



They also state to pick any players outside that squad of 25 because of injuries or illness the club has to give written medical evidence to the RFL.



I am certain Wigan will have complied with all of that.



So the RFL's rules on "full strength" are very broad to say the least. Hence the kind of Wigan team we saw today while clearly what people consider to be a reserve side certainly wasn't against the rules.

I felt sorry for Finch today, everything was put on his shoulders and it wasnt really fair. At the end of the game he stormed off into the changing rooms without the rest of the team, dont think he was happy with the selection process either. Wouldnt be surprised if that was the final nail in the coffin in him leaving at the end of the year.

He was all class in the spell after half time but he was swamped in the end!

After half time he came out and had a brilliant spell to get us in front before the terrible discipline returned and we decided to help them up the field. I imagine he was also pretty annoyed at throwing the game away with a minute to go.

Don't think he was the calming influence that some of the players needed or gave them much encouragement after going behind. He got a little overwhelmed.

As good a player as Finch is. It comes across to me at least, as though he could well have a real attitude on him.



On a side note, I would love to know Lenegan's feelings on today's debacle.

Sign Wane up for life



Total arrogance resting so many players. Stopped me moaning that i put Tomkins into my fantasy team atleast.

Which just goes to show Wane didn't have enough experienced players in the team.