Thaler would've been my first choice but think they've got the right two at this moment in time. Silverwood is erratic, Child is rubbish and Bentham is only just back from injury.

Joke appointment , Hicks is an accident waiting to happen, this will be the biggest game he has ever taken charge of and for good reason he is not up to it , he has dropped lucky in his last 2 games although what he let Saints get way with against Wigan was disgraceful . Only Child is worse , i genuinley think this will cost us the game as Saints laying on and standing offfside will go unpunished and we are not great at home playing the ref as we try to play to the rules more than most so i can see the usual us getting up quick them slowing the game down therefore they will hit the gain line quicker than us hence taking all our energy and thats apart from howlers such as the knock on he gave against Sinny last week

Not fussed myself. Hicks might let a bit more go than some but the worst momentum killer is a ref that constantly pulls up play. Bear in mind that although some teams lie on more than others there are few refs with the bottle to penalise this proportionately. As a rule, they're far happier doling out lots of penalties but distributing them fairly evenly rather than be seen to be awarding one of the sides far more than the other. As for the knock on against Sinfield, that just comes down to human error from which no ref is immune.

some Humans more prone to making mistakes than others , plus a ref just ignoring things as he does is ok if it is minor things but to just let anything go as he did when Saints were so far offside against Wigan is just wrong . He has been around a long time and never been thought capable by his bosses to ref a game this big , in fact he has been a rare sky live game ref and for good reason .

Hicks was fine on Friday.I liked how he let the game flow.Infact, i would say it kind of reminded me of a typical GF ref performance where they tend to let the little things go for the sake of the spectacle, its pretty rare you get a final with a 'look at me' ref showing and that's how i like it.

We should be able to just watch the game and hardly notice the ref, which is what i have liked about Thaler in recent times. If Hicks can do that again on friday then he has done his job as far as i'm concerned.

Yes I'm warming to Hicks. Said at the start of the year that he usually looked nervous when he reffed one of the big sides, especially at their ground. But I think he's settled down now with more experience and from where he was around 12 months ago to what he produced last week has shown a lot of improvement and improved calmness.

Silverwood despite our issues in the past with him could still produce games when he was really good (2012 GF vs Wire), but those games are becoming less frequent now and he makes some bad calls mixed together with his poor relationship with players. As for Child, I'd rather have one of the Chuckle Brothers as referee rather than him. Back to his usual spot of #5 referee in the pecking order. Can't remember the last time I saw Bentham ref due to his injury.

Heard all the praise on this forum for him , but he has had what most of you are calling 2 decent displays . you have not seen much more of him as he is generally kept away from big games . I still believe he is an accident waiting to happen but hope i am proved wrong .

Could be worse, it could be James Child.
Didn't think he did "that" much wrong on Friday to be honest, some questionable calls for BOTH sides but that happens more often than not these days.

If we come out and play like we was doing before Wembley they'll be no need for us to worry about him because the Players will take care of the result.

lad has to have his first big game sometime. he's earn this chance

Leeds play to their ability and take the referee out of the equation. Hicks was fine Friday.

Silverwood has an awful relationship with our players (as does Child) so glad we avoided them.

Would have preferred Thaler who I think is the best of the current bunch.

Haven't we had hicks or child for our last 4-5 games ?

Moan, moan, moan!! Too much whistle from Silverwood and Bentham, not enough whistle from Hicks!

Are you lot for real? Hicks was great on Friday. He let the game flow. Surely this is beneficial to us? I think it's a great appointment. Thank christ Silverwood and Bentham haven't got our game. And as for Child, how that man is still employed as a referee is beyond me

Slight over-reaction there. I think there's only one poster complaining, everyone else seems to be pretty happy.

I'm really nervous for this game.