Is it just me or do match officials allways seem to be against us in Big games?

2005 vs Castleford in Final eliminator
2007 vs Widnes in Final eliminator
2008 vs Whitehaven playoffs
2009 vs Widnes NRC Semi Final.

The officials in all the above games seemed out to get us, now I may be paranoid and admitedly Biased but if I didnt know better I would say the RFL was out to screw us. Will be interesting to see what happens in the 2009 playoffs especially if we are 1 game from the Grand final.

You are paranoid, along with 40,000 other RL fans.

Maybe but just for once it would be nice to see us get the rub of the green in a big match.

We did, in 1987 and 2004


Two huge matches. Still, both of those pale into insignificance when David Campbell gave THAT decision at St Helens in 1994(check with boffins?). That was a disgrace - a decision based on solely getting out of Knowlsley Road alive. It still angers me today.

Unfortunately your paranoid. Think we all are a little...especially when we lose. I think the best way forward would be for Matt and the coaching staff to ask the officials after the game what we need to be doing to rectify any issues and where they feel our problems lay when we are penalised. Having said that they would most likely just talk a load of crap as they were harnessing up their guide dog.

Was that the David Boyd incident?

I think so - he "caught us" offside - in an ATTACKING position - a rule back then (and now i might add) which is overlooked and not penalized. He was searching in vain for a reason to stop us scoring a try. What else could he do?

Yes, that's how I remember it!

What about the Alan Hadcroft "Was it a Try" in the Play off "Final" against York that got us back into the game

Yeah, that is a good one. The implications to the club if we had not won that game would of been catastrophic.

The calls in the 87 final by Holdsworth were correct calls on the no try situation by Elia. Not too sure if Wilf's try would stand up to video ref scrutiny however. But losing in the final at wembly would not have had a negative affect on the club.

Losing to York and back to back relegations would of crippled us.

Can't remember who video ref was but that was a great call to give Hadcroft's (where is he now?) try.

Yes

Wasn't it Ian Connolly , or was he reffing the game.

As for Haddy, He went to Oldham and played for a bit, did his shoulder again and was assistant coach for a period.

Coached our reserves with Dave Ingram for a couple of seasons , but not sure if he's involved in the game anymore

I didn't think that back then Ref's could afficiate against their home town team??


Nes

Think the VR was Steve Pressley (i only remember cause thats the same name as the Hearts FC captain at the time haha)

Haddy is doing a bit of plastering/tiling and works at weekends as a stripagram

the mind boggles



and it is paranoid to think the RFL is against us - that would require organisation

Referee was Robert Connolly in his last game before retirement . VR was Steve Cross

Don't be daft. Widnes were just superior in every single way on Sunday and we should just get over ourselves. Not. I wish we'd have encouraged that Widnes lot to go hand themselves when they manic depressive Cul haters.

Stop being melodramatic. No one is saying [i'Widnes were just superior in every single way on Sunday'[/i.

We were the better side on the day, even if you refuse to see it. Clearly none of you saw this coming and you're finding it hard to come to terms with this defeat, so you're blaming the ref, the Widnes fans, the Widnes players and everyone's against you.

Halifax had a very good 15 - 20 minutes in the 2nd half, that's it. You certainly competed for the rest and neither side out-played the other. Widnes came back twice to take that game and edged a thriller. It's a real pity that most, if not all, Halifax fans cannot acknowledge this and give credit where it is most certainly due.

Halifax fans are just making themselves look ridiculous and very small-time indeed. The Haven fans have been very similiar over the years, and I hope we're not going to get this every-time we beat you, like it did with them.

Calland is also not doing Halifax any favours either, because he's ed off most of the other clubs in this league by saying Halifax are a country mile better than everyone else. By not also acknowledging Widnes as being worthy winners, it will just fire up Widnes' dressing room up even more whenever we play you this season.


That's good advice to be fair.

noone is saying that you didnt play well on the day

i think that there was a build up to the game that would have made which ever team lost it would have been difficult for the fnas.

i think we just were so hoping for a final after all the years we are finding it difficult to get over.

its not that you were not worhty opponents i think all this started cause after the game some of your fans tossed a line into the fax board and went fishing for an argument by gloating and some of our fans took the bate, most notably me for a while.

i was so looking forward to the game it really did take me a few days to get over it as i had already planned a day trip to blackpool if we had got there.

I'm almost certain Dave Campbell played on the wing for Stains before taking up the whistle.

So, during the week he puts his sticky stuff on the walls, and at the weekend he puts his............

Ok so im just paronoid and very biased. Thanks for the reminder of the York game we got alot of luck that day when we needed it the most.

We all gave credit to Sheffield when thy beat us, they were better on the day. You weren't.