Flower blew a fuse and it looked (and was) very, very bad. But I've seen assaults of the premeditated and cynical variety that I consider to be worse - and that have resulted in worse injuries to the victims. They were, however, perhaps lacking a little in terms of televisual spectacle compared to flower's assault.

I was as horrified as anyone by the sight of the filthy slugger in action and that is compounded by the immediate and bloodthirsty response of the national vulture media who ignore our game for 99% of the time. I am livid that the image of our family game, for which we have been striving, has been swiped into oblivion, not only by the criminal act of sheer thuggery, but also in that it has led to the likes of Offiah who, on Twitter and on ITV news pandered to the media thirst for negative news. He, and others, of course, deny it but they have tried to 'excuse' the first punch as part of a legitimate exchange, and made ridiculous efforts to portray the second punch as explicable in a variety of ways! The only explanation lies in Wane's coaching style and that is what will surely destroy our image. If players are sent onto the playing field with the kind of hatred he generates and encourages within them (Watch Warriors Down Under) then this will surely be the kiss of death to any positive coverage we have striven for. I was advocating 'non RL fans' to watch the GF if they wanted to see real sportsmen. Within 2 minutes I was regretting saying a word to anyone! I am furious that Flower brought such disgrace on MY beloved game! He and Wane have brought the entire game into disrepute and should pay dearly. No doubt, by the end of today Flower will walk away from Red Hall with a ridiculously lenient ban and Wane will just go on as before. The RFL should have the balls to ban the pair of them for a long time but of course Wane's contribution is not even part of their discussion. The RFL is a shambles. There is already a really bad smell around Red Hall, with GH now paying for having spoken of it. My guess is that by the end of today it will stink to high heaven around there.

What someone should do is to re-interview Lenegan & start by showing him the clip of the programme on youtube where Wane demands that his players knock out opposition players.
Then ask Lenegan if he thinks that approach in a game prior to which the coach has preached hatred against the opposition may have had any bearing on Flower's actions.
Not that it will happen.

Shaun Wane invented foul play on a Rugby League pitch. Fact.

And then watch clips of 50 boxing coaches telling boxers to smash their opponents nose into their skull and realise that the terminology of coaching might not fit the childish PG world you live in.

Indeed.

As for the "damage" this has done to the game in the national consciousness, I'm not buying that either.

Give it a week until some Premier League footballer has made a muppet of himself (thanks, Raheem Sterling for starting that ball rolling) and it will all but disappear from the media.

IMO it's no worse than Duncan McRea's assault on Ronan O'Gara, or Schalk Burger's gouge during the Lions tour to SA. They don't seem to be the first thing anyone thinks of when rugby union comes up in discussion, despite the sizeable amount of press they generated at the time.

The sad fact is it has now made the main ITV news (last night). Apparently the police have submitted the case for perusal by the CPS.

When was the last time RL made the main news TV non sport bulletins?

Isn't the purpose of boxing to damage their opponent and knock them out? Isn't the purpose of Rugby League, to entertain spectators with entertaining passing in a team environment with the purpose of scoring tries, and to tackle within the rules to prevent tries against?

Not sure where the link is with the example.

There isn't one, that's why no-one can find a link.

Wane's tactics of getting his players so worked up has worked fairly well for most of the season, partly due to the leniency of the disciplinary and referees in not penalising more harshly the parts of Wigan's game that goes beyond just good, aggressive defence. But it's finally backfired spectacularly in the Grand Final. He got one of his less experienced, less talented players so worked up that he went well beyond the line. In only the 2nd minute.

We've seen Wigan's game all year, something like this has been coming.

I'm not sure about less talented. I would take Flower over about any other of their forwards, assuming O'Loughlin's days are diminishing.

It's starting to sound as teeth-gnashy as the Wigan board round here.

It's not tiddlywinks, it's Rugby League. Big daft lads being aggressive and physical. A line is crossed sometimes, as it was here. A ban will be forthcoming.

Here's a thing, hands up who doesn't find a bit of biff on the field quite exciting? Most people do. I predict the incident will do the following material damage to Rugby League: .

I don't think there are many Super League packs he wouldn't get in.

I said ahead of the game that Wigan's forward success is built on attitude, aggression and collectivity. It is the most effective pack in the League, but there are only 3 individuals I'd be particularly keen to swap individuals in Leeds' team for: Flower, McIlorum and O'Loughlin.

I don't have the problem that some do with Wigan's game. If I had to pinpoint the only thing - apart from Flowere's one-off - that makes me uneasy it would be the enthusiasm with which the third man in strikes the lower leg(s) of the ball carrier. Apart from that, fine.

You really are a complete moron if you cannot see the difference.
I'm all for coaches firing up their teams to play hard, indeed I wouldn't expect anything else, but telling them to knock them out?
Knock them down but do it hard & tough & within the laws of the game.