Penny jumping up, although very sporting has no bearing on the decision surely. If he had lay on the floor with a broken jaw would Thaler have seen the tackle differently?

The Aussies are clamping down on head incidents due to a couple of serious injuries last year most notably the Newcastle player who broke his neck.

I thought the same, very poor. Although I did laugh when Sims did it and then knocked on himself in the next tackle. It was disappointing that no one patted him on the head.

You can't be sportsmanlike v the Aussies. Their play and behaviour don't allow it. You need to get up in their faces and treat them like dirt because if you don't they will to you. They will push every single rule to the maximum, unfortunately our refs let them get away with it instead of reffing like they usually do.

v the aussies you need to smack em harder than they smack you and not make daft mistakes. Those daft mistakes, combined with a different refs interpretation on high tackles and holding down, is what lost it for Warrington.

The players feet have left the ground to make the head high tackle. Straight red for me.

The first one was a red in any other circumstance - he jumped into it with his arm outstretched and were it not for Penny's quick reactions and athleticism, he could have been seriously injured. The second was fairly typical Marshall - a lazy arm on a player who had him beat - penalty.

More annoying was the rather obvious message that referees for this series have been told to stay out of things; SGI were allowed to flop, grapple and slow the ptb down to such an extent that Wire were unable to play. The rip on Atkins was a criminal miss - it would have taken 3 seconds to have a look and make the right call.

That said - it was great to watch as a neutral and Wire didn't let themselves or SL down; good start to the series and far from the blow-out that some people had predicted.

but aren't all those things you mention bren2K, things that are deemed 'fair game' in SL games?

most teams try and stop others getting a quick play the ball-Warrington being one of the biggest culprits recently, though most teams do it.
the one-on-one ball steals-again, Warrington are experts at getting away with this, 2 instances in last years play off game spring to mind where the ball was clearly ripped out by Warrington hands but knock ons were given.
i'm not knocking Warrington over it, i'm just saying it's all very well saying they were victims of harsh refereeing because of the opponents, but every team uses these tactics every game in super league to gain an advantage.

did you see how penny landed?! you think tha wasnt reckless last night!?!? jesus H christ. id hate to play against you and you were in a reckless mood...

the only reason it didnt cause an injury is because of luck. you cant rule on a tackle based on the injury incurred. you have to base it on the tackle alone. and that was reckless.

"Angelic" my ....

Who was that totally anonymous bloke who scored a brilliant solo try and kicked two goals?

I'm going to join the minority here and say that I didn't think either were that bad, and penalty sufficient was the right decision for me.

Both were desperate 'grabs' - yes they were high and around the neck, but neither was malicious, both had open hands, not clenched fists, neither were stiff arms. They were both a result of the defender in 'no mans land' and in 2 minds, making a desperate lunge and grab. Marshall was apologising before the tackle was even complete.

They looked spectacular, which is why I think people are foaming at the mouth, but neither tackle posed a serious risk, it was just a grab and the spectacular falls were due to momentum, not the vigour of the tackle.
A card for either would have been harsh and would have ruined the spectacle. For once, I thought the game was reffed brilliantly. (Bar the Atkins 'knock on')

A great try yes but in general terms of the game he was outclassed by his rival

Being 'outclassed' by the current England stand-off is a lot different to being anonymous. How many current SL 6s are as good as Gareth Widdop?