Except, you know, when we dashed his Grand Final dreams once again last year.

It's not 'dummy spitting' to complain that a player can punch another player in the head without even a stint in the Sin Bin. REGARDLESS of the player or team.

might be the they want another team to win super league,so at all costs keep leeds out

Phil Bentham (born 28 July 1971 in Leigh, Lancashire) is an English professional rugby league referee. Bentham is a lobby gobbler not from Warrington -Have a look at the Briers incident again Ablett hit Briers right in the chops and finished on the collar -Yes he shouldn't have reacted like that -But Childs wasn't going to take action -so one blow to the head deserves another to the head. Even though Briers missed and hit his shoulder - I like Leeds have many friends over there -But please take off the Leeds Goggles and look at the incident again - I agree with the benefit of doubt try shouldn't have been given -But look again at the two forward passes on Sinfield try. That also should have been given - Please give the Saints a thrashing and we could meet again for your revenge !

Phil Bentham presumably qualified through the Warrington refereeing society which I guess is why people perceive him (and not unreasonably IMO) to be from Warrington. Under the home town bar that was in place prior to 2008 Bentham was prevented from officiating on the field at any Warrington games although IIRC that didn't extend to VR duties.

Since the lifting of the bar Bentham has controlled a total of eighteen Warrington games in the SL Regular Rounds where they have taken 75% of the points on offer. Over that six season stretch excluding the Bentham controlled games Warrington have taken 66%

I'm guessing you didn't pass GCSE physics, did you?

So being a lobby explains why Bentham's LinkedIn profile says he's from Warrington then?

benttham is a lobby gobbler, as his his dad, he's said so at several warrington fans forums over the years, he's just prefers our side of the tracks to his own neck of the woods.


and make no mistake, he's not well like over our way either, this is lie bloke who didn't send tommy lee off last year for his ridiculously high swinging arm on briers at huddersfield last year.

We are over it.We have got over it,but its a forum its about discussion we would be discussing it at the same length even if we had won..Otherwise there not be much point in having a forum would there?

Well How about last year at OT?when Ablett made him look nonexistant

Congrats Motty...you win the biggest bite of the season contest. Give yourself a chocolate digestive

What are you blabbering on about? We never disagreed with you. If baileys smacks someone in the head he should be sent off like others have. Captains will always speak with the referee. If a ref changes or bases his decision on what a capatin says it simply backs up what we are saying about the incompetence of refs.

As in State of Origin games, same in the play-offs - stakes are higher, refs are more lenient. No harm was done by the Briers punch, which, by the way, wasn't from behind as Ablett clearly ducked! It was 13 against 13 and Leeds shipped 34 legitimate points in the game which will be a bigger concern to BMc.

Lee Briers may be a pain in the backside, but he's no coward. He's taked plenty of cheap shots in his career and can be foprgiven for having a go back. Actually it was pretty brave taking on a bloke twice his size.
It is not inconceivable that referrees will try to keep all 13 on the pitch for a better spectacle. Just after the Briers punch Gaz Hock tweeted "if that was me I'd have been sent off and banned for 3 games" (I've cleared up the grammar!). Well yes Gaz you would - but then like Ryan Bailey, you've got plenty of previous. Briers is a Stand Off for God's sake. Ablett took the punch and got on with the game, no harm done.

The BOTD try WAS a joke but it maybe evened things up as Watkins forward pass - as "momentum" or not - it was 5 metres forward on the play back which Childs and Bentham would have seen.

But hey, ref's make mistakes, none of them are bent. A couple of season's back every game that Bentham reffed at Wigan we lost. You should have heard the conspiracy theories! He, like Child, is just a very poor ref. Not bent, just poor, and we ALL suffer.

I've never understood this business of - if the ref's home town is x then he can't ref when x are playing. FWIW I always thought that Ganson, despite coming from Saints reffed fairly, wasn't afraid to give tough decisions and most definately wasn't bent. Some Wigan fans thought he was the devil incarnate!

Ah well, I suspect that this won't affect Leeds effort to get to thge GF in any case. I rather fancy you to turn Saints over then do Warry in the return. See you at Old Trafford!!!

the only thing i disagree with is the briers is only a stand off.
is there a rule that smaller players are allowed to punch as it won't hurt as much?

I have.

Nope, the grip is on the collar only.


I have, in slo-mo.
No forward passes, you can tell immediately in both passes by the angle that the ball leaves the passing players' hands.

Surely not; and Yorkshire, unlike Lancashire, isn't a country ....