Looks like the two tier refereeing could cost us this season. How Vaughan gets sent off for that last night at Leigh yet Lafai doesn’t for his assault on Miller at Salford sums up everything currently wrong with the game. I’m not knocking Thaler by the way, he applied the letter of the law. Just a shame it isn’t applied by all of the refs all of the time.

Absolutely agree, an unpleasant undertone in last night’s Warrington match also was the amount of moaning and complaining by players to the referee. Especially Bateman, we really don’t want to end up similar to football, our game has always taken pride in the respect of referees.

Bateman can say what he likes, the refs won't be able to understand what he's saying anyway

NeithEr should have been red imho.

Thought Burgess was spot on, and good on him for speaking out.
Are we getting less concussions and a safer game now? We currently have two players out long term with concussion. Can’t remember that since I started watching the sport…….

Because nobody cared about concussion until about 5 years ago.

The sport has had a major reduction (75%) on head impacts this season, so much so that the rumour is that the move to lowering tackle height to below the armpit might well be delayed/postponed. So like it or not this seasons tweaks, which were only a stricter application of the actual rules, have been a success.

Depends how you measure ‘head impacts’. If you speak to the players, they feel game more dangerous, as two players try and get low in the tackle, results in more impacts/head collisions between defenders, more impacts of head on thigh from attacker too…..

Hmm. I don't think so. I don't often speak to players, but I'd hazard a guess that slightly changing their tackling technique ( in recognition of the long standing laws of the game) is a preferable and more controllable option to getting smacked round the chops as a matter of course. The gum shields that players are now mandated to wear will provide the scientific data that should drive decision making on this topic, and so far those results look promising. That's surely something to celebrate.

At the end kf the day fans enjoying the biff at the cost of players having brain damage are gone.

I'm all for strict rules around head contact ( especially intentional ) but they have to be applied the same by every ref in every game and I'd like to see a system in place that helps deal with repeat offenders.

Nobody speaks to the players as they have no representative body. All these things just get decided, when it’s actually their future and safety on the line……

I think that's an exaggeration, Shabs. But even if it isn't I think their answer to the question - "would you like us to police the existing laws of the game properly in order to reduce the risk of brain damage to you in later life?"- would be a very predictable one. It is (forgive the pun) a no brainer.

Fair point, but there needs to be a balance with the integrity of the game too. They are very clear with this in the NRL, we have gone OTT here imho…..

The NRL has gone overboard with some aspects, for example pressuring the kicker. Some of the penalties/sin bins/SO's are crazy. Yet what we have seen as SO'here, Vaughan for example against Leigh, is nothing more than a sin bin e.g. Whitehead for the Raiders yesterday. The two comps aren't aligned at all on the rules, never mind interpretation or application.

Two different games - the speed, athletisism and skill set in the NRL demands different interpretation of the rules.