A penalty try is awarded for a foul which in the opinion of the official involved prevented a try being scored which if the foul hadn't happened would have been scored. The fact that the try was then awarded nehates the effect of the foul and so it is as if the foul hadn't happened. Hence no red card!!

It wasn't a penalty try.

Luke Lewis knocked the ball out not Thurston.

The ball was already falling before Lewis made contact however he did go in with the knees which is also illegal.

I won't pretend to understand the rules however my take on it was - the illegal tackle slowed Halls momentum. Had it not taken place one can make the case that the 2nd tackler would not have got close to him prior to grounding the ball. On those grounds I think the refs opinion that a try would have been scored but for the foul play is legitimate.

As for the foul play being meritous of a sending off. Remove the incident from the penalty try issue and I believe many similar incidents result in sending offs. Personally I think it was worthy of a sending off, deliberate or accidental it was illegal and very dangerous.

Watch it at full speed - not slow motion. Of course it was a penalty try.

regardless of the lack of intention in luke lewis' knees, is it not clear that going in with the knees is wreckless play, which is quite often penalised?

Hall's previous 3 tries in this series, all much harder finishes than last night's would suggest that without the headshot the try would have been pretty well nailed on.
I also think Thurston knew this. I don't believe a player of his intelligence, sharpness and ability would commit that type of tackle unless he was pretty certain there was no other way to stop Hall.

I've read some e on these forums but this takes the biscuit!!

Thurston made no attempt to tackle Hall and instead committed a blatant foul in an attempt to prevent the try; had Hall not been fouled, there is no doubt he would have put the ball down cleanly.

Lewis compounded it by sliding in with his knees - again, no attempt at a legal tackle, just a foul to prevent the try.

Not sure how you sort all that out, but Thurston should have walked - the fact that he did the same thing to Tomkins later in the game was just sticking two fingers up at the gutless ruling body that allows the Aussies to pick their own ref.

It was a clear-cut penalty try.

Thurston should have been sin-binned.

We still would have lost.

So you are happy to see deliberate attacks to the head in RL ?