north yorks trinity

So how come Leigh get possession? (I'm listening, not watching)

Superb defence

I agree. I feel it's a safe bet that Horne was certain that Ellis wasn't injured but it's a dangerous precedent if allowed to go unpunished. Now to play devil's advocate, how does this compare to a player pulling their own team mate out of the ruck which happens often, presumably when they worry they are in danger of conceding a penalty. How do they know their team mate isn't injured?!

Surely one set of match officials is enough. Keep costs down and more chances to moan when they miss something.

That's what I was saying but AFAIK there is currently no mechanism for adding 10 seconds on, which would be more effective than stopping the clock after the time had already been wasted.

Yes players can be penalised for time wasting but they can also genuinely be in discomfort after a tackle and get up gingerly. There's a grey area where a penalty could be harsh or downright unfair. Hence my suggestion to add a few seconds to the clock to counteract time wasting (or minor injuries which occur commonly in the last minute of a game ) without the referee having to make a potentially very contentious decision.

Something for Wigan to live with knowing that their "gamesmanship" has provoked an opponent to deprive themselves of their living for 6 weeks. All teams do it of course. If they can't collectively grow up, how about a rule that the ref can signal 5 (or 10?) seconds be added to the clock for an unnecessarily slow PTB. This could involve the timekeeper stopping the clock temporarily while play continues. Players have clearly figured out they can run several seconds off at each PTB before the ref actually has time to consider stopping the clock.

Well that might have scuppered their plans for a sell out v Catalans. What do you mean, pessimist? Just saying...

Actually he didn't, he missed both the Cas player kicking the ball forward and Harry Smith's off the ball foul. He gave 6th tackle and a handover. Easy mistakes to make in real time just as players make mistakes too. Apart from the VR call being outrageously incompetent, it denied us the irony of seeing a side come out worse off as a result of their own challenge.

Did he say this on the record or was it hearsay?

No they're not. You've only got to back just over a week to find another example. A Wigan team with both French and Field starting were beaten by a side with only 1 prop forward in the 17!

Just a few thoughts addressing some points raised: Did the decision decide the outcome? Not that could ever be proven either way but it likely influenced it, as all decisions do. Otherwise why bother having a referree. Were there any wrong decisions that went in Cas's favour? Quite possibly but made in real time with no chance of repeat views and reflection. Do refs cheat or show bias? No. However, I get the impression that VRs do seem under too much pressure to support their on-field colleagues whether by instruction or a sense of solidarity. So I think Moore perhaps didn't want to embarrass his colleague by pointing out that he had made not one, but two, mistakes in the same passgae of play, but ended up embarrassing himself far more in the process. Finally, although I and others have focused on one decision for obvious reasons, it was actually a good entertaining game with flashes of great skill and flair such as Cini's catch and pass and Field's sublime run. A shame that more of the discussion wasn't about the players. Well done to both teams.

You're entitled to your view but I think you and Aaron Moore are in a minority of two.

OK Mr Moore I'll explain. The job of the VR is to decide, based on what has happened, how to restart/continue the game. Unless all relevant factors are taken into account it won't be possible to do that reliably.

There's a good reason why you thought that!!! Of course the man that matters said there was nothing in it. Unfortunately the man that matters was dead set wrong. Forgiveable when making a split second decision in a fast moving game. No excuse whatsoever when watching a slow motion replay.