The players finished training at around 12 noon on Thursday so they could have gone to Leeds for an appeal if desired. I'm not even sure if the players have to be there, so Mike Rush could have attended, as he did on Wednesday, or Saints could have requested a video call as Catalan do.

Basically it's more McManus smoke and mirrors, like his financial statements over the last two years.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make Brian?

All I said was we should have appealed but decided not to follow it through and then put out an angry statement in what looks like a fit of pique.
Both were really bad decisions in my view.

What this has got to do smoke and mirrors is beyond my comprehension - they were just bad decisions - end of.

With regards to McManus's financial statements, if you want to get into a discussion about how a lot worse wigan's financial situation is than St Helen's then please let me know - I have both sets of accounts and I am a banker (spelled with a B and not a W).
Just as an opener; guess which club is which? - one has very large net assets and is not reliant on the directors' support and the other is insolvent and relies on a certain Mr Ian Lenagan of Oxfordshire to keep lending it money to stay afloat.
Guess also which club laughingly still treats player's contracts as "assets" ?

I'm sure you know the answers to these questions and more.

I thought one had a big debt paying interest to a Hong Kong resident but whose company is registered offshore? while one is UK based and pays UK taxes. I'm not a banker with capital B, but just media with M lol spent a lot of time on sports finance. I do agree an asset is something a lot of major sports do not have these days.

I wonder if McManus has cited Catalans Taylor to the disciplinary for a potential eye gouge on Lomax, surely this should have been picked up last week and hence if charged shouldn't have played against Hull.

Interesting McManus calls for the disciplinary to be more open, then last week a colleague Aaron who writes for the Guardian, & Rugby League World was granted permission to be present at the disciplinary meeting, all clubs involved were informed and asked if the objected, only one did Saints, should be an interesting article in this month's RL World.

I should imagine McManus will see that an insult of the RFL disciplinary by passing the problem and creating "all is well" through media frontage. The latter part of his statement does has valid points and needs to be addressed, Quote" The problem is accentuated by a dysfunctional and erratic disciplinary system. I have made too many representations to this effect to the governing body but to absolutely no avail."

I seem to remember similar words said via Ian Millward asking for clarity, now that was over 10 years ago and nothing has changed to indicate improvement in transparency and consistency.

I guess gidley will be getting a 3 match ban for that blatent shoulder charge with secondary contact.

Don't disagree! my point was when you stand firm, when the RFL allow someone highly regarded from the media to see how the disciplinary works, only one club objects that they do not want him present? that is not being open.

For far too long our game thrives from Red Hall that all is fine & we are the greatest game, I have been accused so many times about my views on Nigel Wood, I'm not really sure what he does, and his club record before joining the RFL was not that good. It saddened me to see the empty seats at Wembley yesterday, back to the 61 final and I was then just a kid in the crowd, 66, 72 etc it was difficult to get tickets, but now we can't sell out Wembley for two top clubs? but RU can get as many if not more for a club game there?

Think you are giving McManus too much credit there, discussions have been going on for a while for one media person to see how the system works, it looks a little silly for one club who are making noises about the system to say no? I am just looking at it having worked in media since leaving school.

We will have to agree to disagree Judder lol

R.U. Supporters tend to be better off financially than R.L supporters.

Perhaps so, but it is not always the case now with modern RU, are American Football supporters all better off financially as well? they fill stadium.

Pubs are closing in the North in St Helens every year pubs used to book Wembley trips at the start of the season, not bothering who was in the final, it was a day or weekend away, have those days gone? away support in Super League is not the same as it used to be, TV does not help, more so when games are moved at the last minute.

Sorry we seem to have really gone off thread! this should be about Luke Walsh.