A lot has been said about Huddersfield's performance yesterday but what I liked best about it was it felt like 'old fashioned' rugby to me

Now, my baptism in Rugby League was 1985 so I don't mean older than that but there was a lot in the performance that reminded me of rugby in the 80's and 90's… good hard forward play with props looking to drive hard and not simply 'find their fronts in contact', some really innovative set plays including run arounds and kicks on the first tackle and a general attitude to rugby that the team that wants it more and plays toughest will win

I know they have been criticised this year for the grapple but I have to say I am beginning to enjoy watching Huddersfield play more than any other team in Super League

Huddersfield are given a bad press. Their attacking play was far more inventive and exciting than Saints, they obviously work their socks off in training on the attacking moves.

Their holding down and niggling at the play the ball is a tactic that makes them almost impossible to beat despite not having super talented players. I can understand why they do it and it's up to the referees to stop that, you can't blame the Giants for it. They stopped Saints getting any go forward in the semi final. Weak refereeing and clever tactics by Huddersfield. The RFL have got to reverse the new interpretations which are eliminating quick play the balls from the sport. All this "Hold, stand, wait, hold, go" stuff is ridiculous.

Surely quick play the balls encourage scooting to gain metres. Slower PTBs encourage better skills in breaking down defences.

I feel that it's a chicken and egg situation - the inventive attacking play is a direct result of a relatively 'slow' game with a lot of bodies in the ruck... you need to be inventive to break down a set defence

Saints have been by some distance the best attacking side in the country for the last decade but that has been based primarily on a fast play the ball and the go forward of Cunningham, Roby et al - just look at Graham, a cracking prop with a big engine but he is playing for a fast play the ball 90% of the time rather than a line break

Hey, I'm not criticising - I think its great that we can have sides playing each other with different tactics and game plans, it makes for a far more entertaining sport

Holding down and niggling is how Leeds and Saints have dominated other teams in the past, its how teams win in Super League and the NRL.

The difference is Saints and Leeds in the past are the only ones to get the timing right (and of course Bradford and Wigan in their day), now it seems Huddersfield have just about got the timing right to avoid the refs whistle.

On the back of that they add a massive work ethic and no small ammount of flair in attack.

That's not true. It was their speed and numbers in defence that made them very difficult to beat, this restricted Saints' play for most of the match. However this didn't make them impossible to beat, the numbers they were committing made them vulnerable out wide. I'm pretty sure it was Long who pointed this out when interviewed during the match saying that Saints needed more depth to get round the Huddersfield defence.

That's only in the last couple of seasons, we used to have pacey, skilful backs who could unlock any defence whether it was set or not. Some of the moves we put together in the Millward era were simply breathtaking. We also sometimes got 70 put on us.

Point taken - maybe should have said last 3 - 4 years

Hudds defended really well. Saints definitely missed Long, as they had few inventive ideas yesterday - Hudss did produce the best attacking moves, too.

That is absolute nonsense. When have Saints ever held down and slowed things down as a tactic? We conceded the least amount of penalties last season I'm sure and if anything at time we were too disciplined under Anderson.

As one of the commentators said in the middle of the game hudds defence was what shut saints down. They quickly got up in the middle of the field limiting Eastmond's options so they did not make much ground. On the occasion that hudds were lazy and gave Eastmond time to pick an option saints were able to get the ball to the wings and they were able to make alot of ground and some resulting in tries.

Judging by the way they've been caned in the penalty counts this season, I would suggest Leeds are no longer "getting it right" under McLennan.