A couple of years ago, it was just a handful of players. The first time I really recall seeing it was McIlorum throwing the ball at a prone tackler to win a penalty in the 2015 Grand Final.

Gradually, it's started spiralling. It culminated I believe last year, when Josh Jones threw the ball forward into a prone marker to win a penalty. This led to a directive from the RFL that such play would be penalised. This has now been forgotten seemingly.

One big problem we have is that we cannot accept that this is now something that happens with all teams. When our team is accused, we leap to their defence. This thread is a case in point. St Helens and Wakefield have been called out on this thread and before long fans leap to their defence.

I didn't see the Wakefield game, so I can't comment. I'm a Saints fan. Dom Peyroux deliberately stepped over the marker and threw the ball onto a marker to win a penalty on Thursday. We benefited by receiving a penalty, but I didn't like seeing it at all.

To get around this problem, we need to accept that this isn't just a couple of players. We shouldn't be blinkered enough to think that our team is above it.

It's systemic. Until we accept that, the problem won't be solved.

I would like to see the refs judge it and make a call in a different way. If the attacker dominates in the tackle the ref calls dominate the player is rewarded and can step forward and play the ball forward of the grounded tackler, if the tackler is still in the way then naturally a penalty.
The other is if the attacker is dominated in the tackle the ref calls surrender then the player concedes and has to step back and play behind the grounded tackler.

If the ref calls dominate because the attacker has got momentum just before the floppers join the affray, then the judgement of the defenders would be at a greater risk of conceded a penalty once the ref has made that call in a similar way to the "held call".

I absolutely did not leap to Trinity's defence; I have said repeatedly on many threads about the wild west that the ruck has become, that *all* coaches and lots of players are guilty of exploiting the ever-changing interpretation of the rules to great effect - such that plenty of games become almost unwatchable to anyone who enjoys the game played properly, and incomprehensible to a casual viewer.

For clarity - I'd penalise Danny Brough as readily as I'd penalise anyone else who uses the grubby tactic of drawing a penalty by deliberately throwing the ball at a defender who isn't impeding him; equally, I'd penalise any player who deliberately impedes the ptb.

In short, apply the rules as written to *all* situations in *all* games, and the problem fairly quickly disappears; it's simple economics - if the cost outweighs the potential benefits, behaviour will change.

I'm starting to doubt the referees even know the rules, SL has become unwatchable with the muppets in the middle.

The problem is that RL has become overly technical. This has been gradually building the last 20 years through the need to 'innovate'.

It would be very brave, but maybe drop some of these overly technical aspects and allow the refs to show a bit more judgement themselves instead of the strict structure we have now.

Some may cry out about rubbish refs, and you may be right, but are they rubbish because all they now do is follow overly technical rules to the letter without just using a bit of common sense?

The easiest thing to do is to have a zero tolerance approach right or wrong. Were you hit by the ball y/n and were you in an ofside position? You could always impose a tap restart and set of six rather than a full penalty if we thought that the full penalty was too harsh. Putting the responsibility on the defenders would call for a change in behaviour. Too often the attacking team is hindered by having to straddle a prone body and the ref shouts play on.

This is getting farcical now. Can't and shouldn't be left til end of the season to resolve it.

Aside from anything else, the game as a spectacle is really suffering.

It's dead simple as far as I am concerned. If the defending player makes an attempt to move but is trapped or can't move, play on. If the player just lies there and it's a general obstruction, penalty. If there is an attempt by the attacker to cheat the rule (ie diving, deliberately placing the ball over the defender, penalty the other way.

The Hull coach has said that there is a coaches meeting on May 1st where this ruck situation will be addressed. The ruck penalties in the Catalans v Castleford match ruined my enjoyment of the match particularly as I watch all NRL matches where the problem has been resolved.

James Child set precedent yesterday by giving Catalan a penalty for not even attempting to play the ball, just hoofing it backwards 5 yards into a Cas player...What should have been a Cas penalty resulted in a Catalan penalty then try from the tap.

Once that happen, Cas had had enough so did what every team they've played this season has done which resulted in everyone on Twitter thinking Shenton is the 2nd coming of Satan himself....Then Catalan went on to do the same thing a further 3 times



Child should be dropped for causing all of that in yesterdays game and players doing it need to be straight up sin binned.

Powell after the game pretty much said if they cheat we'll cheat:



Refs that actually know the rules and then enforce them correctly would be a start.

To be honest I thought the ploy of passing the ball at a prostrate defender had been dealt with. I remember Danny Houghton doing it at Wakey either last season or the one before. There was some sort of instruction passed down to the officials to stamp it out & it seemed to stop, obviously not permanently.

Just penalise the next bloke who does it, it'll soon stop.

I can just see Powell's comments about cheating to "combat" cheating backfiring, and Cas'll end up being the first team to be penalised for it.