Dave T

RL is a very tough game that allows you to hit the opposition very hard in a legal way. When players overstep the mark, they rightly get criticised, nothing sanctimonious. I love the rough stuff, and my team have the likes of Morley, Westwood and L Anderson who play on the edge, and at times they will kop plenty of stick, just like the rougher players at any club. An elbow to somebody's face or raising your knee to somebody's body as they are making a tackle, is not rough, they are cheap shots and deserved of criticism. There were some blinding legal hits in the game last night, and that is the roughness that people appreciate, not the two above mentioned incidents.

Sorry mate, managed to give you four quotes in one, just to give you a taste of what I presume you are missing...

Whatever the circumstances, you made a promise to not bleat on about refs here, which you have failed to keep, not for the first time.

Yep, a communication tool is all it is, and tbh if they clarify that is what it is rather than this 'the ref hasn't seen it' thing then people may take to it a bit more. In terms of sin-binning for foul play, they are still technicaly fouls really. Coley was sin-binned for persistant foul play from Wigan (taking away the fact that there was actually nothing wrong with Coley's tackle!). You can also get binned for late hits. Other than that, normal foul play isn't really covered by the sin-bin. Certainly a one-off high tackle will not get this punishment.

Yep, I would be happy for them to go back to the sin-bin for foul play rule, which has changed now. In effect I see the on-report as a public warning or booking.

It's a strange one this rule. I think it now serves a different purpose than when it was introduced. I think it is purely there to send a message to players and fans that the offence was more serious than a standard penalty, but the ref doesn't want to send him off. Bearing in mind the fact that the games are reviewed anyway, and all sorts of incidents pulled out, there is no other reason to cross your hands above your head other than to send a signal to the fans.

I think most people, apart from the Mathers-haters realise that at times fullbacks will be made to look stupid. Occupational hazard I'm afraid.

Nope. There were right and wrong decisions, just like every other game. Personally I would have had Leeds down to 11 and Wigan would have kept all 13 for the full game, but I don't feel the need to bag the refs time after time.

It was, but the Howell one was slower IMO and easier to spot. You won't get me arguing that he should have walked, just trying to add some perspective as to why Ganson didn't send him off, considering Ganson is usually pretty happy to send players off. Howell got a 3 match ban, so I would expect at least the same for Ablett. One other thing worthy of a mention. I asked on here earlier this week about what Tomkins defence and ability under a high ball was like, well he answered that in style tonight. Considering the treatment he was getting, he took everything that was thrown at him brilliantly.

Nice to see you sticking to your promise of not boring us stupid with your crazy obsessive referee views.

I think because it was so unorthodox, it was quite difficult to tell if what you thought had happened had actually happened! (probably makes no sense!). It's not like a swinging arm, which you can read, this was a freak play and it happened so quickly I questioned whether I had seen it right live. The replay confirmed that I had. Without that replay, I would have perhaps questioned what I had seen.

I think one of the things which saved him was how quick it all happened, it was very difficult to tell in full speed. It looked like a bad one, but it took a replay to confirm it.

Yep, Ganson would have sent him off had he seen that IMHO. You can't criticise Ganson for that. That said, I thought the ref was allowed to ask the VR for their opinion on incidents like this...

Good call. Hearing 8 thousand locals chanting 'Tonga! Tonga!' was outstanding, and again, gave a glimpse of what the game would be like if we had a true International game.

Prior to the game, naturally I was up for Leeds, but the way they played put me right off. I was up for Wigan after a short while, Leeds played the game disgracefully and Wigan played it right. Ablett should have walked, and for me he should get a 4 game ban, this was worse than any high tackle we see week in week out. Bailey should have walked and he needs a proper punishment. There was no excuse for what he did, and it was just lucky that a Wigan player was not attempting to tackle round the waist. Well played Wigan, thought the first try was excellent, they used the overlap really well, and they played some nice stuff despite the weather.

Difficult to say really. They were really welcoming and embraced us all, whether we were from Perpignan or Warrington, but I do think that many were a bit bemused by what was happening. The atmosphere on the Ramblas all day was very lively, and everybody got caught up with it, and apparently there were a fair few locals at the game. Catalans are looking to stage another game there next year, and selfishly I'd love it to be Warrington, but if it is another team, I would encourage the fans to save up and get over there.

Ah, cheers. Wonder if they are sponsoring Italy when they come over to play Wales.

How do you mean?

I only watched that on TV, but I remember getting up early to watch it on BBC with my dad, and we went crazy when Mike Gregory went 80m for his try. So many brilliant memories from that one game!

Nice. I thought it was gonna be something ###### like Monster Munch when you didn't provide the name, but fair play, pretty good.

Meh, wouldn't be my first choice, but let's see how it goes if this is confirmed. Not keen on a lengthy drive down there in the middle of Feb. I also expect that the festival feel of the event will be lost as it is likely that the weather will be too bad for people to be outside drinking and socialising, and the lack of a Bank Holiday risks making the Sunday a bit of a damp squib. That said, I love the concept of Magic Weekend, so I will go along and support it wherever and whenever it is staged.

So, here's a nice happy thread to lead us into the weekend. For me, RL is much more than just the 80m action. It is all about the atmosphere, the build up, the celebrations (or drowning of sorrows), visiting new places, the sights, sounds, smells (thinking of Widnes here ), and I'm interested in people describing their favourite experiences. I have a few that I was thinking of for this thread, Wembley last year, the WC Final in Brisbane, but possibly my favourite ever RL experience was going to Barcelona to watch Catalans v Wire in 2009. I went over with a mate for a couple of nights, staying in a cheap hotel in the City centre, and from the moment we stepped off the plane you just knew it would be something special. Getting to the hotel and having a wander towards Ramblas it was brilliant seeing fellow Wire fans sitting in the cafe bars enjoying a cold beer in the sun. Unfortunately we had a few too many cold beers in the sun and an early night followed! Matchday was something I will remember for the rest of my life. This time as we walked towards Ramblas we were greeted with the sight of thousands and thousands of Catalans fans wearing their colours, waving their flags, and basically takng over the Ramblas area, and this was at 9.30am! It was amazing seeing RL fans take over the city with the locals wondering what the hell was happening! Throughout the day the strip got busier, and noisier, as thousands more fans turned up. The Wire fans took over the Irish bar and the square was filled with the flags, whilst Catalans seemed to take over everywhere else! As the match approached we headed up to the beautiful Olympic Stadium, in what has to be one of the best settings ever for a stadium. The views were breathtaking, and it was brilliant having a pint and paella with the backdrop of the historic stadium and the view from the hills in the 30 degree heat! Once we had found our seat (bit of a maze inside the stadium) the game thankfully lived up to our expectations (as Wire fans) as we got a hard fought win, but that was a minor distraction, as we went back out to the party outside for more beer and paellea until the Catalans fans boarded their coaches at around 11pm. After that point it got a bit messy, with drunken exploits involving scuffling with gangs of black prostitutes (we were trying to get away from them - honest!), and more beer before retiring happy. This for me is what RL is about, and as much as I love going to places like Whitehaven, Bradford and Hull, it was nice, just for a weekend to have a glimpse of what it would be like for RL to be a major international sport, as we were in a beautiful foreign city with RL fans everywhere.

Yep, people can sneer all they want, but young lads moving to the other side of the world is a pretty big thing, and it wont suit everyone. We have seen players struggle with form or even cut short their stays for years now, and it is always a consideration when you are relying on overseas players, especially in key positions.

You're joking right? Inside this small world of ours Rovers means nowt.