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

[Liverpool Rover]

Penrith should have been out of sight with how difficult Wigan were finding it to contain them and the amount of times they were in Wigans 20 while Wigan could only get into Penriths half on the back of penalties, although to their credit they took their chances. I can only guess that the in goal areas were probably shallower than what they would be used to in Australia which is why they decided not to use grubber kicks when they might have done. Wigan still had to defend what Penrith were throwing at them so credit to them. Penrith can feel hard done to though by the Wardle try and the ball steal penalty though.

 

 

[OriginalMrC]

33 minutes ago, StandOffHalf said:

50/50, LOL

I'm a neutral who enjoyed an absorbing game of rugby. I'd hate to be the sort of person that can't enjoy a game and celebrate a great performance. 

[Chrispmartha]

6 minutes ago, Sports Prophet said:

This is very important and I was more than happy to give the benefit of the doubt that it was the momentum and Penrith defenders which drew that ball to the line. I have it down as a 50/50 call and I was happy with the decision of both that and the “No Try” call of the referee for the end of the match.

This is where ‘refs call’ falls down though. IMO there’s nothing wrong with the ref saying - i couldnt clearly see and let the ref with the multiple angles and slow mo replays make the decision.

Edited February 24, 2024 by Chrispmartha

[Chrispmartha]

Just now, OriginalMrC said:

I'm a neutral who enjoyed an absorbing game of rugby. I'd hate to be the sort of person that can't enjoy a game and celebrate a great performance. 

Why can’t you do that and discuss the controversial decisions? The two aren’t mutually exclusive 

[Sports Prophet]

5 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

This is where ‘refs call’ falls down though. IMO there’s nothing wrong with the ref saying - i couldnt clearly see and let the ref with the multiple angles and slow mo replays make the decision.

We have seen in the past before “refs call” was mandatory where the video referee has got an even worse point of view to make the call. The referee is the referee, I am happy with the protocol of “ref’s call”, thinking it’s the best protocol we could have.

In fact, my preference is to remove video referees altogether.

Edited February 24, 2024 by Sports Prophet

[Leyther_Matt]

Went to the game. Enjoyed it. Will reassess the relevant decisions when I’ve not been boozing for 12 hours. The apoplectic Saints fans in the North Stand were entertaining though. 

[OriginalMrC]

5 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Why can’t you do that and discuss the controversial decisions? The two aren’t mutually exclusive 

They were 50/50 calls and the video evidence was inconclusive. Hardly controversial

[Hopie]

There's always been a group amongst Wigan fans, who not only have to see their side win to be happy, but also need everyone to agree that they are the best/most entertaining/deserved winners etc. They won the game, there were also some bad calls, accept both, or ignore the latter and enjoy the former and you will be happy.

As for refs call, it should only be used to decide if the video referee goes back to them and says I don't know either, benefit of the doubt to the ref on the field... Guesses shouldn't be overruling multi angle replays.

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

They were 50/50 calls and the video evidence was inconclusive. Hardly controversial

The wardle try was not 50/50, but anyway are you saying we shouldn’t discuss 50/50 VR calls in a big game? 
 

they are part of the game.

[StandOffHalf]

14 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Why can’t you do that and discuss the controversial decisions? The two aren’t mutually exclusive 

Yeah, I enjoyed a cracking contest, and am just disappointed that there were some baffling adjudications.

Absolutely, celebrate the good about what went on tonight.

[OMEGA]

20 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

Eh? Im saying it’s not a victory of ‘Aus’.

Anyway I’m not overly patriotic and have ties to Australia, why should I automatically want a British club side to win that I don’t support?

If the British side was 100% british players you might have more of a point on the patriotism angle.

Is the Penrith side 100% Australian?

Its riddled with South Sea Islanders

[Chrispmartha]

8 minutes ago, Hopie said:

There's always been a group amongst Wigan fans, who not only have to see their side win to be happy, but also need everyone to agree that they are the best/most entertaining/deserved winners etc. They won the game, there were also some bad calls, accept both, or ignore the latter and enjoy the former and you will be happy.

As for refs call, it should only be used to decide if the video referee goes back to them and says I don't know either, benefit of the doubt to the ref on the field... Guesses shouldn't be overruling multi angle replays.

I’m sure the Wigan fans will have the same attitude of ‘cant you just talk about how good the winners were’ when they lose a game in SL.

And wouldn’t mention refereeing decisions at all

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, OMEGA said:

Is the Penrith side 100% Australian?

Its riddled with South Sea Islanders

Well quite, I did mention that earlier.

Thats kind of my point

Edited February 25, 2024 by Chrispmartha

[Liverpool Rover]

19 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

This is where ‘refs call’ falls down though. IMO there’s nothing wrong with the ref saying - i couldnt clearly see and let the ref with the multiple angles and slow mo replays make the decision.

I think it would be better if we followed Union with the referee going to the video referee and asking if there is any reason why a try shouldn't be awarded?

[GURNER]

Penrith had plenty of field position but lacked a cutting edge. 

Wigan defended for their lives, with only one or two lapses in concentration. Attacking wise we did show a touch more inventiveness.

Regardless of the controversy over refs calls, it was a brilliant event to witness live.

And don't ever tell me the Aussies don't take this match seriously.

[andyscoot]

Enjoy the match at the ground. Haven't watched it back but I'm under no illusions that the try/no try was dodgy. They either both go up as a try or both as a no try.

That's sport, and if it ruffles some Aussie feathers at the same time I'm all for it.

I thought Penrith would blow Wigan away with how much territory they had. Odd decision to basically never test Wigan's line with a kick on the 5th too. Felt like they had very little ideas, whereas Wigan converted what little field position they had.

[Chrispmartha]

1 minute ago, GURNER said:

Penrith had plenty of field position but lacked a cutting edge. 

Wigan defended for their lives, with only one or two lapses in concentration. Attacking wise we did show a touch more inventiveness.

Regardless of the controversy over refs calls, it was a brilliant event to witness live.

And don't ever tell me the Aussies don't take this match seriously.

Bevan French and Jai Field certainly took it seriously yes

[Copa]

11 minutes ago, OMEGA said:

Is the Penrith side 100% Australian?

Its riddled with South Sea Islanders

South Sea Islanders are the descendants of pacific islanders who were kidnapped or recruited in the late 1800s to work in Queensland sugar cane fields.

It’s not really expected anyone from outside Australia would know this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Islanders

[Futtocks]

25 minutes ago, Hopie said:

There's always been a group amongst Wigan fans, who not only have to see their side win to be happy, but also need everyone to agree that they are the best/most entertaining/deserved winners etc. 

There's some heavy (and very revealing) projection going on here.

[NRLandSL]

So many people on social media saying the Martin strip was legal. In the NRL it is, in international rules it is not.

In international rules once there is 2 players in a tackle the ball can’t be stripped even if a player drops off.

Quite funny to see how angry some NRL Fans boys are, they can’t fathom the SL is a quality competition so they blame it on every thing else other than the actual game.

The Wardle try was controversial but he definitely got to the line, whether it was a double movement or not is the question. When you slow it down to individual frames it looks like he promotes the ball but from the refs POV all of that happened in a millisecond so you can’t really argue his decision. 

[del capo]

2 hours ago, JonM said:

Yes, thought he was a close second for MotM.

Got to give some credit to the Wigan fans too - haven't heard an atmosphere like that for some years.

Weren't Wigan the first SL club to name their fans as 18th man on the team sheet ( and then sell them loads of shirts ) ?

Worked tonight....

[Chrispmartha]

9 minutes ago, NRLandSL said:

So many people on social media saying the Martin strip was legal. In the NRL it is, in international rules it is not.

In international rules once there is 2 players in a tackle the ball can’t be stripped even if a player drops off.

Quite funny to see how angry some NRL Fans boys are, they can’t fathom the SL is a quality competition so they blame it on every thing else other than the actual game.

The Wardle try was controversial but he definitely got to the line, whether it was a double movement or not is the question. When you slow it down to individual frames it looks like he promotes the ball but from the refs POV all of that happened in a millisecond so you can’t really argue his decision. 

Not sure you’ve got that strip the ball rule correct 

Wardle didn’t‘definitely’ get to the line either

Edited February 25, 2024 by Chrispmartha

[The Future is League]

1 minute ago, Chrispmartha said:

Not sure you’ve got that strip the ball rule correct 

Wardle didn’t‘definitely’ get to the line either

Controversy always gets more column inches and longer debates.

[Jinking Jimmy]

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.

[NRLandSL]

WCC Wins

NRL-14

SL-15

But Super league is still worser than the QLD cup though.