Yes the refereeing in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the second half killed it as a match.

I was just shocked they never ruled a knock on

Personally I feel the Video referees love the challenge Cup games as it gives them an opportunity to get there voices heard on TV. They talk for an age watching replay after replay taking forever to make a decision, its a joke.

Cas though with plenty time on the clock lost all composure. Too many errors and poor execution.

No question that HT rescued Saints who were struggling at the end of the first half but, Cas never had a sniff in the 2nd half.
Yes, Saints seemed to get some luck but, it was 20 - 0 in the 2nd half, which, luck or no luck, is pretty emphatic.

The players on both sides deserve huge credit for their performance in ridiculously hot conditions, all of them earned their brass yesterday.

No, but you are allowed to step back into the field of play and then touch the ball, otherwise any player who ever moved into a dead position would be permanently out of play. I've seen people quoting sections of the laws online, but they don't specifically fit the Grace scenario. He was out of play, then he was in play, then he touched the ball. The only interesting question is whether a player coming from outside the field must have both feet in play to become live again, as Grace appeared to have one foot in play and one foot in the air immediately before he touched the ball. But we allow players to ground the ball over the try line when the rest of their body is off the ground!

Nothing controversial in the game at all. The video referee explained the ruling for the Roby try well. Had Grace jumped with both feet at the same time it would have been no try, but as he kept his right foot down after lifting the left leg, it leaves him in the field of play. I'd love to think he knew that and did it deliberately but I'm sure it was just luck.

The BIG thing about the game wasn't the referee, who had an excellent game, but Darryl Powell. He chose to throw the game against Saints and not to play his players in the game the week before the final. He panicked as they had a few injuries and his goal was clearly to get the strongest names on the teamsheet on the day. He didn't prepare the team well at all. Any players who could have played in the Salford game should have done. I suspect that would have been most of their players. You can carry one or two in a game, but going into it with the vast majority of the squad having had minimal gametime in the previous five or six weeks was a big mistake. They were always going to run out of steam and needed to be 12-18 up at half time to have any chance. Saints won the second half 20-0 without really attacking well or doing anything particularly special.

2 of our players went off with HIA against Salford. One playing full back and one playing 7. 6 days both the final both would then have to sit out for a week. Powell was justified with that team selection so close to Wembley. Matagi ended up missing out which was a shame because he was a beast against warrington.

We planned on going full tilt against Huddersfield but that was called off on the Tuesday.

I honestly don't think it would have made a difference. Our forwards lost the arm wrestle and your kicking game penned us deep every time so you had full control of the 2nd half. Your forwards won the battle because collectively they're the best in the league.

The 2 major turning points was us not adding to the score at 12 6, we had 2 sets right on your line before half time, even a drop goal would have helped but we spilled possession, then not holding out longer then 3 minutes in the 2nd half due to the dubious roby try.

The last 10 minutes was just a constant cycle of us trying short kick offs or short GLDO due to being 8 behind on the scoreboard.