Sat 24th Feb: WCC: Wigan Warriors v Penrith Panthers KO 8pm (Sky/BBC/SuperLeague+)

[The Rocket]

2 minutes ago, dkw said:

It's very amusing on social media how fans of other NRL teams are laughing at the gall of Penrith fans complaining about bad decisions against them, seems they get the benefit of them in there competition according to these fans.

That club means a lot to the people out there and they`re rightly proud of it, them winning is their way of getting back at all the disparaging remarks made about them and the area they live in. Take for example this deliberately mischievous headline in one of the country`s widest read newspapers, the Sydney Morning Herald, the other day:

‘I’m glad our kids don’t know how to read’: New doco reveals impact of death threats on Jarome Luai’s family

A lot of sniggering around the rest of Sydney over that one.

 

 

[Dave T]

14 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

Look at the angle posted by bratman 2 posts above. In that shot there’s a high likelihood the ball is touching the line. He only stayed in that position for a split second though and then was pushed back which is why most people are saying he was short.

 

And this is where I can understand the refs call being a thing, even though I hate it and preferred the old refs call which went back to him if the video was inconclusive. 

But seeing something from close up with the naked eye will tell us something that the replays won't, and the ref was right there. He saw the ball down for one, and didn't for the other. The video wasn't conclusive, so we go with the naked eye. 

The problem with the first one was around the double movement really. 

On the 2nd one, nothing showed the ball down, and the ref, who was in a good position never saw the ball on the ground, so I think refusing that one is absolutely fine really. 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

10 hours ago, Jinking Jimmy said:

From the Sydney Morning Herald

In this fixture, you need a lot to go your way: Let’s get the most important thing out of the way: Wigan were absolutely sensational and nothing should detract from what was a super performance on a night of high emotion at the DW Stadium. But if you’re Penrith, you’re starting to see why you need a lot to go your way to win this game. The crowd is against you. The conditions are foreign (it was barely four degrees at kick-off). Your opposition has already started their season. The international rules used are tricky. And then there are one or two refereeing/video refereeing decisions which might not fall your way. Let’s put aside Taylan May’s no try call in the last second and concentrate on Wigan centre Jake Wardle’s second-half try, the only score of the second half, which proved to be the matchwinner. It’s hard to see how the ball got to the line, and why referee Liam Moore sent it upstairs on the field as a try. “I didn’t see the ball over the line on that one,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said. But as Cleeary said, Wigan executed better - and for that no one should begrudge them this win.

Interesting article. Apart from International Rules, which are 'tricky' for both sides, Penrith had none of those issues to contend with last year, yet still didn't win

[Dunbar]

6 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

Interesting article. Apart from International Rules, which are 'tricky' for both sides, Penrith had none of those issues to contend with last year, yet still didn't win

Exactly.  You could do a find and replace for Saints last year and they would have faced the same challenges away from home as Penrith did this year.

[Dunbar]

I am starting to think I may support the NRL team in next year's Challenge as the lack of competition is not good for the game.

[gingerjon]

That Main Event figure is a bit disappointing but, I guess, shows that it's not really generated too many neutral/casual eyes - it's more or less the same Super League audience just split across different channels.

We were up against Arsenal v Newcastle on TNT.

 

[Phil]

I have to say I’m a tad disappointed at fans of English clubs joining the pile on against the officials and by extension Wigan.

My opinion is that this is a huge plus for English rugby league as well as the Wigan club 

[Dunbar]

3 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

That Main Event figure is a bit disappointing but, I guess, shows that it's not really generated too many neutral/casual eyes - it's more or less the same Super League audience just split across different channels.

We were up against Arsenal v Newcastle on TNT.

 

I am assuming the 80k figure is the peak for main event.

That meant the game peaked at 619k before Sky Sports Action is added.

That a lot more than a normal Super League game isn't it?

[Dunbar]

Just now, Phil said:

I have to say I’m a tad disappointed at fans of English clubs joining the pile on against the officials and by extension Wigan.

My opinion is that this is a huge plus for English rugby league as well as the Wigan club 

I'm a Wigan fan and I think it is OK to say the Wardle try was a poor decision while still saying the game was outstanding and Wigan deserved the win with a superbly gutsy performance. 

These things are not mutually exclusive. 

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Dunbar said:

I am assuming the 80k figure is the peak for main event.

That meant the game peaked at 619k before Sky Sports Action is added.

That a lot more than a normal Super League game isn't it?

I think we only ever see the averages - well, they're the ones I tend to use anyway!

Yes, fair. I'll be a bit less disappointed now. It does seem a low figure for Main Event anyway but we should definitely be happy with the overall. Be interesting to know how it rated in Oz.

[bobbruce]

2 hours ago, sentoffagain2 said:

     The Penrith late no try.I don't think the referee or linesman could see if the ball touched the ground.So how could they send it up as a try?.Field did look to have his hand under the ball all the time in the tackle so not conclusive either way.Would have been undeserved for Wigan if the try had been given and then the conversion from the touchline went over.Even Wigan didn't deserve that.We would have been spared the late controversy if Harry Smith had dived on the loose ball instead of trying to gather it.In the old days possession was so vital when scrums were contested that coaches drilled into players to put their body between opponents and the ball before grasping it.

Just on your first point not seeing the ball grounded is not a reason to not award the try. 

[M j M]

That was a great event, I love the DW when it's full like that, it's an absolute bear pit. Took me back to a couple of the GB-Aus tests in the early/mid 2000s.

Where we were sat we couldn't see the screen (I shouldn't have delegated ticket booking ) so were pretty oblivious to how contentious some of the calls were. The Wardle try is the most obvious - and it looks, not for the first time, like a video ref made their "I've seen all the angles I need" statement only for Sky to immediately show another angle that was very suggestive that the call was wrong.

So Wigan got the rub of the green. But, as has been said above, if Penrith are the world beaters claimed then they should be putting 40 on these English teams not being close enough that a couple of 50/50 calls means they lose.

A couple of other points: did anyone else notice that Russell Watson sang the old version of the Aussie national anthem? And what's going on with the capacity of the DW? People were desperate to get tickets so I don't get why there were obvious sections of empty seats in some of the corners whilst the entire block next to us in the East Stand was left with its segregation covering in place.

[Padge]

5 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

Just on your first point not seeing the ball grounded is not a reason to not award the try. 

Its written into the laws. 

[Dunbar]

4 minutes ago, bobbruce said:

Just on your first point not seeing the ball grounded is not a reason to not award the try. 

I guess that's the difference of being sent up a try or not.

The laws state that the referee should not disallow a try because he was not in a position to see the grounding of the ball.  But equally, if he didn't think the ball got to the line then he shouldn't award a try.

If a ref thinks it got there and wants to check he send it up as a try.  If he thinks it didn't and wants to check then he sends it up no try.

I thought that decision was handled OK.

[Dunbar]

1 minute ago, M j M said:

A couple of other points: did anyone else notice that Russell Watson sang the old version of the Aussie national anthem?

I was going to post that at the time but didn't want the thread to get derailed.

I thought that was poor as the words were changed to respect the indigenous people of Australia, a few of which were in the Penrith side.

[bobbruce]

1 minute ago, Dunbar said:

I guess that's the difference of being sent up a try or not.

The laws state that the referee should not disallow a try because he was not in a position to see the grounding of the ball.  But equally, if he didn't think the ball got to the line then he shouldn't award a try.

If a ref thinks it got there and wants to check he send it up as a try.  If he thinks it didn't and wants to check then he sends it up no try.

I thought that decision was handled OK.

What it allows is for the ref to make his decision on probabilities but he doesn’t actually have to see the ball grounded to give it. 

[Dunbar]

Just now, bobbruce said:

What it allows is for the ref to make his decision on probabilities but he doesn’t actually have to see the ball grounded to give it. 

Agreed.

[Damien]

Well what a great event and night that was. The best RL event I have been to for a long time. The whole night was just electric.

[Futtocks]

14 minutes ago, M j M said:

A couple of other points: did anyone else notice that Russell Watson sang the old version of the Aussie national anthem?

I didn't notice, but that's because I was mentally tuning out Watson's voice as usual.

[Phil]

55 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

I'm a Wigan fan and I think it is OK to say the Wardle try was a poor decision while still saying the game was outstanding and Wigan deserved the win with a superbly gutsy performance. 

These things are not mutually exclusive. 

I agree but in some areas of soshul meeja it’s just a huge pile on, lots of it by English fans and I don’t get why.

A great night for Wigan but also for English rugby league in my opinion 

Edited February 25 by Phil

[Dunbar]

Just now, Phil said:

I agree but in some areas of soshul meeja it’s just a huge pile on, lots of by English fans and I don’t get why.

A great night for Wigan but also for English rugby league in my opinion 

That's social media for you.  It's a minefield of nonsense. 

[Phil]

2 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

That's social media for you.  It's a minefield of nonsense. 

Indeed, this place can be bad enough

[Chris22]

Saw a stat of Twitter that said Wigan had 21 play the balls inside Penrith's half for the entire match. One point which hasn't been picked up on too much is how clinical Wigan were, when they got inside Penrith's half, they tended to score. Part of the credit must go to go attacking play but Penrith will be disappointed with their defence.

By contrast, Penrith had the majority of the territory but couldn't convert. Again, credit should go to excellent Wigan defence and Penrith will be annoyed at their lack of cutting edge and overly-cautious last tackle plays.

If a game is played where territory is dominated so much by one team, Penrith in this case, they would win on the vast majority of occasions. The fact they didn't is what made the match so absorbing.

I didn't have any issue with the Penrith no try at the end and thought it was an example of where the on-field call works well. There was no angle where you could track the ball, so going with the on-field referees judgement seemed reasonable. It was the combination of that and the Wardle try that made it contentious. I struggle to see how that was awarded.

I'd almost like to see a reversal of the on field call. I wouldn't burden the referee with it at first but in examples like the Penrith no try at the end, the referee is asked for his view where the video referee has no angles available to him to make anything beyond a guess.

[Josef K]

A fantastic victory well done wigan i am pleased they won. 

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

3 hours ago, Harry Stottle said:

There should be a third signal of say holding the arms upright when the ref is totally unsighted and not sure what has happened.

Could call it a Lomax or a Lewis maybe?