I WAS very pleased with the performance of our players in Friday's home match with Leeds Rhinos.

One particularly pleasing aspect was our defence. We have kept Super League opposition down to single figures for the third game in a row and that is particularly pleasing given the amount of attacking talent there is in the competition these days.

The only frustrating thing at the moment is that we now have another week off as this weekend is Challenge Cup weekend with Leeds Rhinos meeting St Helens at our very own JJB Stadium.

Many officials are predicting a bumper crowd for the semi-final and the league is reminding fans that they can pay on the turnstiles on the day. It would be great for Wigan if the semi-final had a big crowd in front of the national TV cameras.

Halifax Blue Sox a week on Friday and then on Good Friday, we have our near neighbours St Helens at the JJB Stadium for what should be a great match.

It is imperative that, as a team, we only have one game on our minds and that is the Halifax match. However, staff at the club tell me that tickets are already on sale for the Saints clash on Good Friday which kicks off at 2pm.

The atmosphere was great at the JJB during the match with Leeds. The ground is quickly becoming a favourite amongst league fans and that is a credit to the Wigan fans that keep coming out in their droves.

Already, we are beating our attendance records from last season. We had 3,000 more fans than last season for the match with Warrington and over 1,000 more fans than last season for the match with Leeds.

Keep it up fans - we need your support!

Well done to the Bolton Mets who kept themselves on course for promotion with an 18 - 4 win over Crosfields at the weekend.