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Wigan RL

NEWTON AND RADLISKI OUT OF TEST SERIES
Great Britain duo Kris Radlinski and Terry Newton are the first players to be ruled out of the Test Series with New Zealand after being told that they will need wrist and knee surgery respectively.
Wigan Warriors coach Stuart Raper revealed after Friday's 24-8 defeat at St Helens that a number of his side would have to undergo close season operations, and the duo are the first to confirm their surgery.

Radlinski has played on despite the wrist injury in recent weeks, while Newton requires knee surgery and he also damaged an elbow last week which he aggravated against Saints.

Warriors chairman Maurice Lindsay said: "He will need three months rest afterwards so he's having the operation immediately to enable him to be ready for next year."

Wigan second rower Mick Cassidy tore a calf muscle in the Final Eliminator defeat to Saints, while Harvey Howard - who joined Gary Connolly in playing his final game for the club at Knowsley Road - suffered concussion.

Raper admits that he is proud of the achievements of the side this year, winning the Challenge Cup at Murrayfield and going to within 80 minutes of a Grand Final rematch with Bradford Bulls.

"We would have struggled to field a side next week," conceded Raper. "A lot of blokes will be facing operations throughout the close season and there will be a lot of rehab work until Christmas.

"It's been a really tough season, one of most exhausting I've been through. Winning the Cup took a lot out of us and we would probably have struggled to field a side next week.

"All in all, I think it's been a great year and I'm really proud of the guys."

Prop Terry O'Connor will have his long-standing Achilles problem assessed before he can assume his international place.

FAZ SAYS TERRYS TOUGHER THAN THE IRON MAN
TERRY'S MADE OF STEEL - FARRELL

Wigan Warriors captain Andy Farrell has nominated team-mate Terry O'Connor to become the 2002 Tetley's Rugby Super League Man of Steel for his displays this season.

The award will be presented next Tuesday at Super League's annual awards dinner in Manchester, with reigning Man of Steel Paul Sculthorpe among the favourites for the title.

However, Farrell has given his backing to O'Connor, who was the Opta Metre Maker in Super League VII despite playing through the pain of a number of injuries.

The main problem has been an Achilles problem which has, at times, prevented him from training, but he will again line up when Wigan visit St Helens in Friday's Final Eliminator.

"If I had a vote, he would be my nomination for Man of Steel," Farrell told the Daily Mail. "For me, Terry has been the most consistent player in Super League by far this season, and he has been carrying injuries for months.

"I have seen him on the physio table - he starts at his toes and works his way up to his forehead!

"Yet you would never think he was carrying an injury or missing out on training.

"Even with his injuries, he has made the most yards in Super League this year, and that is a phenomenal achievement. He typifies what Man of Steel should be about."

O'Connor has had problems with a finger which he dislocated early in the season, both ankles and a shoulder, and he admits: "I've not had a season like it for injuries!

"I damaged my right ankle earlier this season and the left is affected. The pain will be worth it if we can reach the Grand Final."

OTHER LEAGUE NEWS
SAINTS REPORT HUGE SALES
St Helens sold over half of their allocation of tickets for the Tetley's Rugby Super League Grand Final on Saturday after making them available to season ticket holders.
Please note that £20 and £25 tickets are now not available online.

GIANTS LEAP BACK INTO SUPER LEAGUE
Huddersfield Giants will return to Tetley's Rugby Super League next season following a 38-16 defeat of Leigh Centurions in the Northern Ford Premiership Grand Final at Widnes on Saturday.

NO LEEDS FUTURE FOR HAY
Leeds Rhinos second rower Andy Hay seems set to follow Karl Pratt out of the Headingley exit after being told that he is not a part of Daryl Powell's plans for 2003

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Superleague table
THE FINAL LEAGUE TABLE

1 St Helens 46

2 Bradford Bulls 46

3 Wigan Warriors 39

4 Leeds Rhinos 34

5 Hull FC 32

6 Castleford Tigers 30

7 Widnes Vikings 29

8 London Broncos 27

9 Halifax Blue Sox 16

10 Warrington Wolves 14

11 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 12

12 Salford City Reds 11

WIGAN V SAINTS

Saints 24
Warriors 8

St Helens marched into the Tetley's Rugby Super League Grand Final with a 24-8 defeat of Wigan Warriors at Knowsley Road on Friday night.
Heavy rain turned what promised to be a superb affair into an at-times error-strewn encounter, but Saints produced a superb defensive display to reach their third Grand Final in four years.

They led 10-0 and 12-2 before Mick Cassidy got Wigan over the line, but a try from the excellent Keiron Cunningham before the break dented their resistance before Paul Sculthorpe scored the only points of the second period to seal the win.

Wigan were made to pay for errors throughout the first half, and the first of those came inside the opening set of the game, when Craig Smith spilled the ball.

Darren Britt was stopped short from the ensuing possession but Sean Long's wide pass allowed Anthony Stewart to dive in at the corner after only 91 seconds.

Sculthorpe missed the conversion but added a penalty on six minutes following three straight indiscretions by the Warriors.

Seven minutes later, Adrian Lam kicked out on the full, and Saints used the field position for Long to dart out of dummy half on the blind side and send Chris Joynt crashing over.

Sculthorpe was again wide with the goal, and Cunningham was stopped short in a three-man tackle.

Wigan got on the scoreboard on 23 minutes when Andy Farrell kicked a penalty, but that was cancelled out at the other end by Sculthorpe following a fracas which saw Long and Craig Smith sin-binned and the Kiwi prop penalised for an elbow.

Sculthorpe was wide with another penalty shot and Wigan finally crossed the Saints line after 33 minutes on their first foray into the home 10 metres, when Cassidy plundered through four men to the line.

Farrell converted and, suddenly, the Warriors were back in the game at 12-8.

However, they allowed Saints to stretch back into a ten point lead going into the break when Cunningham skipped over from 10 metres, the goal sending them in 18-8 up.

Three handling errors inside the opening 40 seconds of the restart ended with Wigan pressing, but Shaun Briscoe was bundled into touch at the corner by a despairing tackle as the Warriors ended their raid empty-handed.

The game became a battle of wits, with long, deep kicks applying pressure on both sides before Saints seized the advantage.

When they finally gained possession inside the Wigan quarter, Long weighted a chip superbly and Sculthorpe was on hand to collect and score, Long converting.

Wigan lost Harvey Howard with concussion and Cassidy with a calf tear to leave their ranks depleted - Terry Newton also aggravated an elbow injury - while Saints are sweating on the fitness of Paul Newlove.

The centre left Knowsley Road - which held a capacity 15,100 crowd for the second successive week - on crutches after injuring his groin and leg following a break downfield and could be set for Grand Final heartbreak for the second time.

Saints showed excellent goal-line defence during the remainder of the game as Wigan searched for a way back, with Radlinski being stopped short and Brian Carney's break down the right coming to nothing as the Warriors' season ended short of a Grand Final return.

"Losing is always tough, especially when it's your last game of the season," said Warriors coach Stuart Raper.

"That try before half time was hard on us but I thought we came out in the second half really strongly, Briscoe went pretty close and that could have changed the game for us.

"The conditions changed everyone's gameplan and you've got to give credit to St Helens, they were definitely the better side on the day."

Saints boss Ian Millward, who was delighted with their defence, said: "I thought it was a great performance, we played very well.

"The try they scored was a one-on-one error and, in these conditions, sometimes that happens.

"The way we started the game showed some statements. I was really impressed with our players today. All 17 contributed to the performance - I thought it was terrific."

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