Some grubby play from the Pies tonight.

Sarginson got away with a swinging arm on Wilkin and also a dubious and unnecessary shot into the ribs of Burns.

Micky Mac seemed to 'kick' Wilkin in the head with his shins which looked far from accidental. Also tipped Burns above the horizontal even though he didn't have the ball.

O'loughlin with a bad high shot but got away with just a pen.

Surprised nobody got 10 minutes as there were several bad incidents of nasty play that went relatively unpunished. Glad they lost.

I agree that stricter enforcement of existing laws wold probably do more good (and less harm) than bringing in new ones.

As mentioned by a few the ref's need to call held sooner. Regularly neither attacker or defender has won collision and a wrestle ensues, momentum has stopped but the ref doesn't call held allowing other players plenty of time to join the tackle late and put the player to the floor. It's rarely against the rules but often dangerous. If held was called sooner, ie when momentum has stopped, the attacker would still be on his feet allowing a quick play the ball which is exactly what the defenders are trying to prevent. Defenders would then be encouraged to put the player to the floor sooner effectively eliminating the third man in problem.

I agree with those who said the attackers should be made to play the ball correctly. I've no issue with them stepping to the side to avoid a defender who hasn't cleared the rook but they shouldn't be allowed to step forward.

By the way, if you're interested in the conditioning work a player goes through, there's a nice article here: rugbystrengthcoach.com/a-week-of ... parations/ Whilst it's RU, and not quite a normal in-season our out of season session, it's a good insight. Keir is working in RU right now, but a league guy at heart.

By the way, if you're interested in the conditioning work a player goes through, there's a nice article here: rugbystrengthcoach.com/a-week-of ... parations/ Whilst it's RU, and not quite a normal in-season our out of season session, it's a good insight. Keir is working in RU right now, but a league guy at heart.

BUMP - having seen the tackle on Crabtree ( yellow card ) noone would have batted a eyelid 5/10 years ago and the Wardle tackle wasnt great but would never have been a red card in a millions years

To be fair, Crabtree landed with his head and neck bent, I'm sure we all want to see more Alex McKinnon's don't we?
And the Wardle one was a red card every day, it wasn't malicious but it was lazy.

There is more emphasis on duty of care now, especially concerning heads, than there was 10-15, 20 years ago, and rightly so, i don't think rugby league has gone soft, i think society has, because there has to be more responsibility and care now, otherwise you're likely to end up in court.