Dunbar

I understand your point. But I absolutely lay some blame on the players and coaches as well... because they will point fingers at the opposition for something they do themselves. I think this problem is solved as much by the players and coaches, to say enough is enough, as much as it is the officials to get the calls right.

My post after the one you quoted stated that I thought the video ref should have let play continue. But I have to say, you thinking the players don't bear any blame in try to win that penalty goes against much of what you have said on this subject.

The Fox commentary team I was listening to live (not the one in the clip) mentioned that they thought the VR was reluctant to give it and sounded embarrassed to give it... the implication being that he had no option but to penalise as there was head contact. But surely he would have been within his rights to say it was incidental head contact with no force so no penalty.

This one is entirely on the Manly players, they appealed that knock on hoping to get that head contact penalised. They should be ashamed of themselves.

How about this for a 'game's gone' moment. https://wwos.nine.com.au/videos/nrl/commentators-shocked-by-stitch-up-bunker-call/clvz5wqwf00030ho32c1zaco4

Two teams I thoroughly enjoy watching, looking forward to this one.

Herbie Farnworth back for the Dolphins this weekend.

I would call it the competition that delivers the most free to air coverage and the highest television audience of the year for our sport. Binning it off would be a massive own goal. The shift to the league for our sport is great for week to week coverage and attendances but we have to remember that this is behind a pay wall for the vast majority of games. The cup is a great way to reach an audience with a recognised brand. I am not a big fan of removing the game with the biggest audience we have... it would be like Apple discontinuing the iPhone.

In that case, I agree with you. Season tickets and the shift of focus to the league has been beneficial for the sport. I just got thrown off by you saying the cup games were more exciting than run of the mill league games.

This post feels a little contradictory. You start by saying 'there felt little distinction between going to a cup and league game' and then two paragraphs later you say that 'a cup run was often more exciting than another run of the mill league game.'

Not just a consumer base, a particularly successful one. Season ticket sales and the growth in attendances for league games is very useful for clubs. The season tickets provide excellent cash flow while the higher attendances are valuable for sponsorship and in stadia sales. I would take that business model over a draw to see if I can get a couple of home cup games a year every day of the week.

This is quite a deceptive view though. For a long time, the Challenge Cup was a bigger match attraction than league games. Is that something the clubs would prefer today? Take Widnes. In 1983/94, they played two Challenge Cup games at home - against second division Dewsbury (in Round 1) where they got 4,005 and against HKR (Round 3) where they got 8,017. That 8,017 was their biggest home attendance of the year and well above their average league attendance of the year which was 4,528 (15 games). The focus of fans has moved from cup to league and now league games outdraw cup games - is that really a bad thing? What I find amazing is that Widnes are getting 2,936 in the second division while in the 80's - an era people consider bumper for our sport they were averaging 4,528 in the top division. As I have said previously on this thread, the shift in popularity from cup to league is a welcome one for our sport overall.

I feel like you have missed an excellent opportunity to get the word 'values' I here.

Morgan Smithies fined for a crusher in the Sea Eagles game. To be honest, I think he is very lucky. He put the player in a very dangerous position and was much more of a deliberate action than many crusher tackles.

Lewis Murphy didn't play for the Roosters today with Tate I'm 18 on the wing. Has Murphy suffered an injury setback?