Nothing to do with him being ex-FC, I have no interest inter-Humberside nitpicking. He's just an annoying *****. Whereas Ganson is an entertaining *****. A small difference, but enough to influence who I would like to take the abuse.

IMO there are ample opportunities for an offside layer to get back onside and so I have no sympathy. If you are offside at a kick you have no excuse for not getting back onside.

I would imagine that as the kick was from about halfway the intention was to do an offside kick chase, and by the time the line met the fullback, the 10m would have been gobbled up, or the fullback spills the ball and play on. As the fullback made no play for the ball, this messed it all up a bit. The scorer probably knew he was offside but you have to go for it even if you knw, as refs do miss things, as this case proves adequately

As I said when I previously debated this issue with TVOC, for me we should be punishing the ‘worst’ error and rewarding the best play. A good spiralling kick is good play, being offside but not interfering with the player attempting the catch is a fairly small error, conversely making a clusterwhoopsie of the catch is a pretty bad error and allowing a try to be scored off it isn’t good play at all.

I think the whole on/offside issue should be looked at because parts of it are a bit nonsensical, with poor play being protected and the seeming random nature of a bouncing rugby ball often resulting in a turnover of ball because of accidental offside (why we have an infringement which by its very definition is beyond the control of the play is crazy imo)

apart from the fact that someone bearing down on you as you attempt to take a bomb has a high chance of putting you off (whether it should or shouldn't is another matter). that is why I think the 10 yard rule exists. UNder no pressure these players would take that bomb 99 times out of 100

Yet they dont, and there is no way in many incidents that it is down to the pressure of the offside player, it certainly wasnt the case in this incident

From the few occasions that I've seen Eden on tv he often seems reluctant or badly positioned to take the ball on the full.
Had he done his job properly, Ganson would not have been called upon to do his job badly.
That is not to excuse Ganson but Eden is not blameless in this either.

Bad play from Eden but worse from the Hull chasere who probably knew they were offside from the outset. They stayed outside the ten but couldn't resist the temptation when the ball bounced back towards them. Although it was a big ask of Houghton to get beyond them had he found the energy to do so the score would have stood legitimately.

Loved the Rod Stud suggestion during Backchat that Hull should have let Hull KR score an unopposed try on the re-start to tie the scores again.

Hopefully now after this kerfuffle at least we should all know exactly how the rule works which is a step forward from the previous discussion at Easter.

but if you allow that then someone (usually Saints) will stick a player in the in-goal area, kick the ball downfield to him (ensuring it bounces) collect the ball and touchdown for the try. Then we'd all be complaining.

finglas has addressed this point perfectly - coaches would have a field day.

You keep talking about not rewarding bad play which I agree with but being in front of the kicker is bad play but there is already a remedy for that if the kicker gets ahead of his offside colleagues he plays them back onside. If the kicker doesn't they have to give the defending team 10 metres grace with the ball.

Sometimes I think we have to acknowledge when the game has struck the right balance and I think with the current offside rules from a kick they have. Sure it will sometime let a player escape from a poor play or a fumble at the back but the chase team has a responsibility to.

That sounds like an immensely difficult skill to me? The attacking player would need to be closest to the ball but the ball would still need to bounce 10 metres away from them and hold up in the in goal area for them to be able to score from that.

Good kicking and catching of kicks are skills in Rugby League, they are skills I like watching and skills which when they fail should be punished. Being behind someone isn’t that interesting a skill to watch.

It is entirely feasible though and try would be the correct interpretation under the rules prescribed. The less grey areas involved in rules the better for all concerned (apart from those trying to exploit them).

I suggested goal area as an example but on the 2nd tackle a fifty yard kick with a bounce to a player would be just as relevant. Only the full back in their own half. Even if a try wasn't scored it would give better field position.

I completely disagree with the final part. It's a skill to stay behind the kicker and time your kick chase.

How many times do we see a kick go up and over or though the defensive line and a player arrive with your immediate thought being he must have been offside - only to go back in replay and see he'd just stayed on and set off at the precise point he needed to execute the play. That's a skill just as clearing up at the back whether under a high ball or a ball bumping along the turf is.

I don't watch it but don't we already have a sport where you can set off downtown as soon as the ball is played, look for space and wait for the ball to arrive from the backfield?

You said earlier you'd like to see a change that requires the chase player only to be ten away from where a ball bounces rather than a requirement to be behind the kicker. So what would there be to stop the kicker bunting the ball into the ground and through the defensive line to a colleague or a mid range dink kick over the defensive line? Would they be OK too or would you want different rules for different type of kicks?

Leave the rule as it is, the balance is right. No offside chaser has earned the right to benefit from an opposition mistake.

And i would be fine with that skill being rewarded with a try. An aimed 50 yard kick on the 2nd tackle with a bounce 10 metres away from a chasing player seems a like a spectacular, risky play. I think that would be a good thing to watch and a skill to be rewarded

I'm talking about a player stood 50 yards offside, not a chasing player, just stood there waiting for the ball to bounce to him. To divert attention, he could actually pretend to be injured and then gat up as the ball is being played, entirely legal with the implied rules but not something I want to see.