Tosh!

I like most RL fans have no problem with a bit of honest bif but Garbutt came in from the side and hit a bloke who wasn't even looking at him!

It's a cheap shot and there's nothing to admire about it!

Tamou hit a bloke who wasn't looking at him, do you have the same problem with that? To say that Garbutt came in from the side is very generous of you - admittedly he wasn't dead centre but they were near enough squared up and Tamou was in fighting stance.

I'm not saying what Garbutt did was alright, but it was understandable (having, from his perspective at least, just seen his fellow prop get punched) and it was nowhere close to the cheap blindside shot a lot of handwringers on here are making it out to be.

He didn't come in from the side. He didn't hit someone who wasn't in fighting mode. He didn't hit someone who had no idea he was there. He didn't hit anyone who hadn't already started something. He didn't hit someone who was in any way unable to defend themselves. He hit someone who had popped his team mate. End of story. Any more than a one match ban would be very harsh.

So you admire what he did then?

We have very different opinions on what's acceptable behaviour from a professional sportsman!

Jeez - what has the world of RL come to when a bit of biff between props causes 'outrage'....

The supporters of our game have gone soft....

What was Garbutt really going to do - just stand there and watch? It's rugby league, he's a prop, who cares - Tamou got up wanting some, he got some... 1 in, all in.... When these things happen in the heat of the moment, players usually pile in swinging - they don't tap people on the shoulder and ask them to look them in the eye before swinging.

Those 'outraged' can't have played the game, or are part of the new cult of 'social media outraged'....

If you can point out to me where I've said I admire it then bravo to you.

What I have said is I understand it.

You, on the other hand, have painted an entirely untrue picture of the events in order to be outraged by what was in actuality a fairly standard situation of two props coming together. Hope that helps.

My opinion on the punch was it was a cheap shot. I like a bit of biff and if Galloway decked him after his slap, then fair enough as they were standing toe to toe with each other.

Garbutt decks Tamou while he's not looking though (yes I'm sure someone can get a screenshot of a split second when Tamou is looking at Garbutt) but Tamou is looking at Galloway and it's a cheap shot IMHO

Thought Leeds did well and Jordan Lilley can hold his head high in particular. Would have liked to have seen the GF winning side take the Cowboys on rather than the one last night.

Lilley is going to be a cracking player. Despite him being junior to Sutcliffe, he was the one really leading the side around last night. If he weighed a stone or two more, he'd have scored last night too, very unlucky that.

Sutcliffe is a funny one. he looked very good last year, but he was slotting into a very very good side and being asked to carry out a specific role. I think so far this year he's looked a bit lost with the added burden. Early days though, he's definitely got the skill set.

Agree on Lilley - I'd say with the performances he's put in, particularly against the better opposition of NZ and the Cowboys, he's taken his chance and put himself above Sutcliffe in the pecking order. When McGuire is back fit, as things stand I'd be using a H/B pairing of Lilley and McGuire. Lilley is also a good goal kicker (though last nights effort in the wind/rain wasn't particularly good).

Garbutt deserved a red but that's it - he's no Ben Flower.

I admired it, it was a cracking punch, no complaints from the opposition, it was a fair one on one punch, no cheap shot, red card and sending of sufficient.

If you do t like it go watch cricket or basketball a non contact sport, this is Rugby League.

Looked to me like Tamou was going to straight left Garbutt for coming at him and grabbing him, but Garbutt was quicker to the punch.

Tamou cocked his left arm and still went through the action of throwing the punch but was in between those two moments already on the way down with lights going out so didn't properly connect

1. Tamou with left fist clenched and punch cocked


2. Tamou's straight left, momentarily after he's been hit, so a damp squib. But a straight left anyway. What else could it be?

This picture must be fake, Garbutt came in from blindside and it was Galloway in front of Tamou allegedly.

Yeah & I would admire it too, if it had been a boxing match!

At no point was Tamou looking at Garbutt, he looked like he was waiting for a response from Galloway.

'1 in, all in' - one of the un-written laws of the game....

If you get up and have a dig at anyone from the opposition (or a slap in this instance), you should know to expect his team mates flying in swinging from any angle - that's the way it has always been and the way it should always be.... Players should always look to defend each other - it's part of their role (particularly a props).

The only real exception is a king hit from behind.... Which Garbutts was a million miles from...

I dread to think where the game will end up if we let the easily outraged keep sanitising our game.

Let the big boys let off some steam and sort things out on the pitch for gods sake...

Punches are not thrown in the NRL these days, since they introduced a much more robust on-field response; consequently, there's a fair bit of pushing and shoving, but very few meaningful shots fired. For that reason, Tamou gave Galloway a clip round the ear and probably expected a bit of a grapple - so in that sense, Garbutt's haymaker will have surprised him.

It wasn't particularly edifying, but it was a million miles from Ben Flower's vicious brain explosion, or Rangi Chase smashing Tangi Ropati's jaw with a deliberate elbow; if I was Garbutt's coach or a Leeds fan, I'd be more annoyed at the stupidity of the player - he'll get banned for several games, and that's the last thing they need right now.