I've said for ages the Disciplinary system in SL and those that enforce it are totally inept.
They started an "Ask the Ref" this year via twitter but its got to the stage where their reply is 99% we were right followed by some waffling or using the disciplinary review system to back up their claims they got the call right!
There are far too many "grey areas" or as i like to call them "get out clauses2 that protect blatant pooor calls.
Using Saturdays incident as an example EVERYONE watching saw what Braindead did from every angle and whilst i can accept that maybe Silverw-@nk was un-sighted the call made was total bollox its a straight red irrespective of the game ,venue ,t.v or whatever.
Then the Charge again just highlights the joke of a system we have in SL the RFL have to get a grip on it (after they've finsihed trying to fight off the SL clubs revolution).
There are situations that are 50/50 and certain considerations need to be applied ie intent ,tackled player falling etc etc but events like Saturday are crystal clear its time that stuff like that is stamped out and those involved hammered irrespective of past history ,whether they are Sky darlings etc.
Also this year the grapple tackle has been ignored in most games and since they dis-continued an automatic sin bin for hitting a kicker late i think thats creeping back into games.

It's plausible that he's lost track of the list of people he's whacked.

Because what if it was innocent? you send a player off in a grand final and then when it gets to a disciplinary they ask the questions, look the guy in the eye, look at the recordings, take into account other statements, and then find him not guilty.

If that had not been Westwood on Saturday, and say was Higham instead, there is no way I would have put that down as an intentional punch. He wasn't even looking at the guy. But it wasn't Higham it was Westwood, and he has a reputation and a history of it. But that is for a disciplinary to decide, not the video ref. I don't believe Silverwood would have sent him off had he seen it either.

Watch the BBC coverage and in particular the first replay, which can be found on that well known video sharing site.

Westwood clearly cocks his arm back, clenches his fist and swings.

If he isn't trying to punch Blake Green in the head, there's absolutely no reason for his fist to be clenched or for his arm to make the movement that it did.

That said, as a single punch I can see why it was graded "minor". The injury suffered does not come into the grading, but is taken into account as an aggravating factor by the disciplinary when setting the sentence, and can enable them to move outside the recommended sentence for that grade.

I watched it a few times on iPlayer. It looks deliberate to me but I'm not 100% sure. His fist is clenched, and he is facing in the direction of green suggests it is deliberate. However, when playing it is common to go in with that sort of arm movement around the top to secure the ball and complete the tackle.

For me I think its a cheap shot, and one that should probably get a ban, but I wouldn't expect it to have been given a red card. The action looks legitimate in real time, and the ref was probably unsighted.

If he is found guilty I think him being able to serve a ban in a friendly is stupid, just like McGuire

Very few, if any, saw the incident initially. The game had gone on a couple of tackles so the ref had little choice. A straight red card? At one time the ref would have indicated a punch & sent the offender back 10m with nothing more than a thumb pointing over the shoulder. The OTT hysteria & language on this thread belongs on the Wigan board.

I'd like to see the Rhinos make a stand on this issue & not allow McGuire to serve his ban in a friendly or pre-season game but make him sit out the first regular season game in 2014.

Sure, the arm movement is/was not unusual, but surely if he was really intending to"secure the ball and complete the tackle" he would have been better served to attempt it with a full hand and fingers rather than his knuckle ends?

. . . . . unless he is as daft as he looks.

It looked fairly deliberate to me on the slow-mo, and I think it merited a red card for the position its target was in at the time.

I don't know if injury severity should be an issue, given that I am assred by some Cherry and White visitors that in the semi Blake Green lay on the floor for ages after Danny McGuire's brutal assault on his shoulder becasue "he was in shock after finding himself in an unexpected position." So the lad is clearly a bit fragile for an RL player (it's all relative, I'd have been vapourised by the initial tackle on both occasions...).

I am surprised people think everyone in the ground saw it. At the time I didn't spot it, and even on the highlights program when I was looking for it it wasn't that easy to spot. I don't really want to see the video ref sticking his beak into stuff like that. Slippery slope that leads to very stop-start matches, and the game being reffed from a cupboard.

I'm not sure anyone could be that daft.

In terms of his fist, I agree with you. That tips it to deliberate to me, but its not unusual for people to hit contact with fists clenched

As, stupidly, bans count towards International games, I wonder - does that count for players who don't play for England? So, could the RFL ban an Australia/New Zealand International from playing for their National team come world cup season? Or vice versa, can an England International be banned from an England game for something he did whilst playing in the NRL?

Genuine question.

Ya.

See: James Graham and his biting ban last Autumn.

Agreed.

The game has gone soft these days replacing the absence of real biff and dirtyness with hyperbole instead.

rlPrefer how it used to be myselfrl.

I love the ref's reaction on that. Hilarious.

Pretty sure even in those days you'd have walked for that more often than not though!

You don't see many pro players who can throw a punch like that these days either. Lovely shot.