The DC should make sure that if Hock is banned, it ends his season if Wigan make the Grand Final.
The last thing the game needs after Tomkin's V sign on national TV is the Grand Final press coverage being about the possibility of Hock returning after a suspension for eye-gouging.

Harrison was clearly trying to dislocate poor Gaz Hocks fingers with his eye lids....1 match ban.

Same for Jon Clarke who deliberately tried to headbutt lovely little Sam's foot as he scored.

By the way..anyone think Warrington played OK today?

I think trying to argue about whether teams are prone to head high tackles is a bit .... pointless. Back in the days when tackles were almost exclusively executed text book style around the waist, high tackles were indeed a rarity. These days, players are coached to tackle around the chest area in an effort to prevent the ball carrier from getting an offload away. This naturally results in a certain percentage of tackles going high for various reasons, and are (mostly, although unfortunately not always) rightfully punished by awarding a penalty against the offending team.

All teams commit high tackles, and all teams have players who get it wrong more often than their team mates. It would be wonderful to think that there are teams out there who are angels when it comes to the high tackle issue, but really that's not the case.

You can make the same argument about lying on in the tackle, the same applies, the teams are trying to slow the attacking team down to allow their team mates time to get back on side. Sometimes, they overstep what the referee considers to be acceptable, and are penalised.

My own particular pet hate right now is the tackled player running forwards off the mark while "trying to regain their feet", in a deliberate ploy to make it next to impossible for the defenders on the floor to get up, and back square in front of the ball player (thus affording the dummy half a free 10 metre run, or to gain a penalty from a desperate marker tackle from an 'offside' position). But once again, all teams have players who try this particular tactic at times.

As it happens right now, Wigan are the best in the league at employing all of these tactics (and all teams try it, from what I can see). Which is why they get so roundly criticised.

Yep, should have been an 8 point try.


As for Hock, should be a very long ban. There is no defence for that.

It'd be interesting to hear from certain Wigan fans as to how serious an injury Mr Hock should receive in their view. McGuire got 7 months from the Rugby Gods for obstruction just as a point of reference.

I understand Hock was actually trying to put 2 fingers up to the Wire speccies but Harrison put his face in the way.

Warrington showed how the game should be played fast and furious, the Wigoon Way is not good for the game.

But Leeds doing it for a full season, week in, week out, doesn't evoke the same reaction from the majority. So why a 12 page thread after every Wigan game, or when a Wigan player does something wrong, or when a player is injured in a Wigan game, or when a dubious call goes for Wigan, seriously, it's getting boring now.

I couldn't agree more - I've been saying the same thing since last season.

Michael Maguire has been an extremely negative influence on the English game in my view and it would seem that his snarling, win at all costs, siege mentality has infected not only his players, but a significant number of their fans.

The players reaction today when it became clear that Tony Smith had masterminded a way to unravel their slowing, spoling tactics was positively cringeworthy; they were unsportsmanlike, petulant and downright dirty. In all, a pretty unedifying spectacle.

It's called 'The Wigan Way.'

How can you even consider calling it a tackling technique? It was an assault, pure and simple.

So, are we saying this was down to a Wembley hangover, or giving Wire the credit?
For me, its a mix of both. Wire beasted them down the middle with a strength that destryed Wigan's wrestling tactics. Carvell was immense again - he's got be be on the Four Nations team imo - and the pack was well Marshalled by MM. The ability to offload when the defenders are in the middle of their slowing down process causes real problems.
Despite dropping some real money balls when they threatened to get back in to it, they did show they could still threaten. Their problems were compounded by Wire controlling the territory and being disciplined in attack, stoppint WIgan creating space for Tomkins out wide and forcing a lot of sideways running.

Wigan [iwill[/i be a tougher ask in the playoffs, but Wire know how to do it. Once they've got the better at the ruck, their more powerful team can take the game. Wigan need to control that wrestle as they've done all season - their problem is Wire are the biggest team around and therefore the hardest to harness.

A good summary IMO.

The main positive for me is how easily we opened Wire up on a couple of occasions, but as you said we never took advantage of them.

If we get Wire again then I'm still confident of a win, but then again so would Wire.

A couple of occasions = 39 - 24...still a good result?...oh and I think the general consensus is the Ryan's try should have been awarded...45 - 24...plus you can add in Westwood, Solo, Brett H and Paul Wood...just the facts.

Luck plays a lot of a hand in games, the number of games this season have been decided on a ball's bounce is laughable (if Huddersfield handnt lost so many because of it this season - including against Wigan)

Clarke should of had the 8 point try however I think Tomkins genuinly wanted to try and stop the try with his lag (Radlinski style) but just got the technique all wrong.

I have never rated Hock as a RL player, even before his smack ban. But now maybe people will sit up and realise the guy is nothing more than a thug. What he did yesterday has no place in the game of RL for me.

If he goes to disciplinary and says yes I did Gouge then give him 12 games, if he goes in and says no, I never meant to gauge then ban him for 18 months. Clearly blatent