He should be done for attempted murder!

Love it when moderators lose it.

Posting when drink - bad times.

I'm not sure you could prove he intended to kill him.
The level of charge would very much depend on the injury that was caused.
GBH - a serious and possible lifelong injury was caused intentionally.
ABH - causes physical harm as a result of unlawful force, even if the resulting injury was not intended.
Battery - unlawful force is used but leads to no injury.
Common Assault - actions that cause an individual to fear that force will be used against them

Of the list, I'd plump for ABH. An injury was clearly caused as Hohaia had to leave the field.

Agree with this.

Has there ever been a more detested team in RL than the current Wigan lot? Reknown for their borderline tactics, and "coached" by a guy who is clearly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, can we really expect anything else?

I think their classless refusal to appear in any post match interview, simply highlights their inbred seige mentality.
Congrats to Saints. I suspect the entire RL community stood and applauded at the end.

PS Guess what Team Board has a gloating thread,..... and then has a frothing Mod threatening to ban anyone who actually gloats.....lol

What went on beforehand is almost irrelevant. The first punch was an overreaction in itself - Hohaia then drops to the ground - that's where any attack must end, and if it did, at that point Flower could potentially have had some mitigation to reduce his ban - the punch was still wrong, but could be understood.

As it is, Hohaia drops, and Flower follows up the first punch by bending over and swinging another - that's just not fair game and is criminal.

For those claiming these type of incidents can't be dealt with by the courts - an ex-teammate of mine was prosecuted following an all in brawl on the rugby pitch. He didn't start the brawl, he didn't hit an unconscious man, he was actually retaliating - however, he did catch the lad who started it all with a beauty that knocked the lad clean out and broke his eye socket - he didn't do time for this, but he was prosecuted at Court (and subsequently lost his 'public facing' job due to his conviction). There have been quite a few incidents in the amateur game recently that have finished up in the Courts.

Which is why I hope it does not, otherwise a can of worms is opened.

Yes it can go to the courts and in the amature game, maybe for the reward the risks of getting lamped are not worth it.

But this is the pro game, where people are well rewarded for the risk and have insurance etc.

Not sure about the reasons you fella was taken to court, but could be that any criminal prosecution was required for insurance purposes to pay out? Like I say I've no idea, but if this goes to court, will Farrell and Scully have to go to court for their dust up years ago. What about broken noses, eye sockets, cheek bones, busted knees from cannonball tackles.

We could be there every week

No, usually both could claim self defence as there is no clear victim/assailant.

We would not be there every week - this is the first time I have ever seen an unconscious player attacked whilst lying defenceless on the ground. Flower cannot claim in the slightest that he feared harm to himself owing to the fact Hohaia was unconscious.

In the first set of 6 in the game I think St's came out and out Wiganed wigan. A tatact I sure brown sent them out there with. Some thing like 'we all know how Wigan / Wane play rugby let's go out there and get at them first'. Which was evident by how big the hits were in the first set of 6 and leading to (excuse the spelling) mose giving away a penalty for a high shot.

The play goes down the other end, lance and Ben come together, yes lance steps across him yes Ben gets his arms up and knocks him down. Nothing much if any thing in it at all. With the words of his coach still fresh in his head 'we are not going to get pushed around by this Wigan team' lance picks him self up and runs after Ben and attempts to knock him down.

There is no forarm smash to the head as some are trying to make out. First contact is on the chest, there is a little contact with the head but nothing major if referee sees it most proberly a penalty to Wigan.

Then Ben after that, wound up like a spring at the beginning of a grand final felling a bit of contact to the head retaliates with a heavy blow to lance knocking out/down. Over reaction slightly but can see wear it comes from and something rightly or wrongly you often see on a rugby field. Yellow card may be a red but if it ended there with a bit of a scuffle between both teams he may well of been put on report as it was the 2nd min of a final.

What happens after that was awful and not going to go into it but think the lad is facing a very hefty ban 10 games minimum I would think.

Now and let me say I am defiantly not Wigan or St's supporter. Nathan Brown to me looks like he sent his team out to get right at Wigan and wind then up, looks like that worked and they win the game.

And let me add I hope lance is okay!

Alot of things happen as part of the game like the examples you've mentioned but attacking an unconcious opponent on the floor is something else.

The funniest thing about this isnt Wigans tactics being a major reasons why their players were left in tears on the field, nor is it their fans trying to mitigate or defend it, nor is it the world wide (literally) embarrassment the incident has brought.

Its just how hard certain trolls are having to work for a reaction on this thread. They really are having to lay a lot of bait for very little reaction .

This is absolutely the point. My ex-teammate mitigated with an argument of self defence and that it was part of an all in brawl instigated by the 'victim' - these were taken into account, but he was deemed to have used excessive force (don't know how it was legally worded) - but basically his reaction and force of his punch was seen as excessive and beyond defence - one of the reasons it went to Court was that the 'Victim' chose to press charges (For which he was widely criticised for locally - I understand even by his own teammates) - I can't imaging Hohaia will want to press charges.

Find it embarrassing that Wigan fans are trying to defend the whole incident. Flower has not only brought the game into shame around the world, but he cost your team the grand final. Instead of taking it out on Flower for costing you back to back titles you are all more bothered about trying to prove that somehow this was Hohaia's fault and to hear people saying he deserved it is ridiculous. Rugby League is a tough sport and Flower reacted disgracefully to getting a bit of his own medicine. There was no need for him to take it any further, 1 cheap shot each.
Wane ' s comments are an absolute joke and embarrassment. Jason Crookes got sent off for us against Rovers, he never (and never will) play for Hull again. Flower gets sent off 2 minutes into a grand final costing Wigan the game and Wiga are willing to 'stand by him'. If the club had any morals he'd have been driving home from Old Trafford at about 6:15 last night and never to return back to the Wigan club.

You have to use reasonable force.

We all know it was an awful incident and that Flower was at fault, that his red was more than deserved and that a ban will be the correct punishment, but some of the comments like Flower potentially killing Hohaia and going to prison are embarrassingly over the top. Pointing that out isn't the same as defending Flower. Some people are just too desperate to believe Wigan are a criminal outfit. Players commit fouls, even yours.

Dramatic yes, but it's true. What flower did to hohaia on the floor was very dangerous and people have been killed from similiar in town and the offending party has wound up serving a lengthy jail term. Just other week I saw in the news about a student in america who had been killed in a fight after one punch.

Quote ="TheElectricGlidingWarrior"We all know it was an awful incident and that Flower was at fault, that his red was more than deserved and that a ban will be the correct punishment, but some of the comments like Flower potentially killing Hohaia and going to prison are embarrassingly over the top. Pointing that out isn't the same as defending Flower. Some people are just too desperate to believe Wigan are a criminal outfit. Players commit fouls, even yours.'" Tell that to this guys parents. www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/d ... ugby-union you are at particular risk after an initial concussive impact and any secondary impact can cause serious brain damage.

Quote ="TheElectricGlidingWarrior"We all know it was an awful incident and that Flower was at fault, that his red was more than deserved and that a ban will be the correct punishment, but some of the comments like Flower potentially killing Hohaia and going to prison are embarrassingly over the top. Pointing that out isn't the same as defending Flower. Some people are just too desperate to believe Wigan are a criminal outfit. Players commit fouls, even yours.'" Tell that to this guys parents. www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/d ... ugby-union you are at particular risk after an initial concussive impact and any secondary impact can cause serious brain damage.

Correct. However, this is a classic case of 'spiraling over-reaction'. Although a few nutters on here won't be satisfied with anything, for the most part the exaggerations are in response to the frankly ridiculous attempts by a number of Wigan fans to blame the entire incident on Hohaia. A simple acknowledgement of Flower's guilt, without any attached feeble caveats claimed as being made 'in search of the truth' or whatever, would have been the appropriate Wigan response.

I can accept the swipe from Flower to take Hohaia down in the first place, just as the bomb went up; I can accept Hohaia's reaction to that; I can even accept Flower's punch in reaction to Hohaia's reaction...all of that is just a bit of biff and something I want to see as part of this sport.

I cannot accept, however, Flower then punching a prone and defenceless Hohaia as he lay in the floor seemingly unconscious. And I cannot accept any Pie giving any excuses or reasons or defending of it.

All season, I've seen Pies saying to us Wires, "well Ben Westwood should have been sent off in last year's Grand Final" as we've commented on countless cannonball tackles, Kirk Dixon's broken jaw from McIlorum, late shots on players, purposely holding up Ben Harrison in a certain way so the third man can come in on his bad right knee that now needs a second operation over the Winter after two games against Wigan he had to stop playing in, Laithwaite having to go to hospital, Ratchford's broken ankle... we've not had a single one of those incidents not reacted to by pies without then saying "yeah well, Ben Westwood...".

Yeah well, Ben Westwood [ishould have[/i been sent off in last year's Grand Final and I have no excuse or reason for what he did - it was wrong and cowardly. But that doesn't mean we cannot talk about Wigan's/Wane's dirty tactics and culture within Wigan, started by Maguire when he first came over and now taken to another level by Baron Greenback.

This has to be dealt with severally, it even made the news on bbc3 late night bulletin. The only thing they showed was the punch on the floor.

Record ban or certainly 10+ minumen. The first punch and all that went on before was irrelevant. The punch on the floor when out cold was terrible and that's what's making the headlines, it goes out of the realms of the game, and an 4-8 game ban is not enough.

As for wane showed his class again, brainless thug.

Flower obviously won't go to prison. Hohia would be well within his rights to press charges but he won't. And even if he did he won't serve time for something that happened in the heat of battle on a rugby pitch in a professional game.

However it isn't overreacting to say he could have killed him. People have been killed by a lot less. Frankly there's not many things more dangerous that he could have done. I'm just glad it was more of a jab than a haymaker otherwise it really could have been nasty.

As a relatively unbiased observer:
Flower hit Hohia. Not much in it, but thats where it should have ended.
Hohia elbowed Flower. Bad form and worth a penalty.
Flower threw a blindside punch that knocked Hohia out. Nasty! In Oz these days the punch is an automatic sin bin and it was at least worth that. Probably worth a send off and a week or two.
Flower punches unconscious man on the ground. Complete dog act. No excuses.

If performance enhancing drugs are worth up to two years he should get at least that. And feel damn lucky the cops aren't knocking on his door.

just watched it again, he should be on remand and waiting for a magistrate, 2 years minimum, common assault, GBH, ABH whatever else the Police can think of. If any Wigan fan can defend him that's just plain odd.

Ian Lenagan has made the worse deal, not just for Wigan but for rugby league in general, by signing Shaun Wane on for another three years. When you put together Wanes comments during the world club challenge documentary, his comments about his family hating Saints prior to the grand final and that Ben Flower punch in the Grand Final, it does not look pretty at all.

Had a commentator said the things Wane said, they should lose their job. However Phil Clarke, ironically also from Wigan, had said similar things about Danny McGuire in the past and got away with it. That same commentator has also defended Ben Flower.

Had a Wigan fan punched an unconscious St Helens fan in the stand that Wiganer would probably be facing years from ever being allowed in a rugby league ground? Not Ben Flower though who will most likely be given better treatment than what Gareth Hock was ever given by the Wigan club.

Then of course the Wigan Brigantes were banned from the stands but it seems Wigan players are allowed to show like-to-like behavior on the pitch. The club took a long while to sort that off-field nasty element out and hopefully they will spend the off season sorting out the other nasty elements I’ve wrote about.

Ian Lenagan would get rid of Wane as soon as possible if he had any integrity left.

Last week Sam Burgess broke his cheekbone and eye socket in the first minute and played on to win mom.

This week Ben Flower straddled an already knocked out half back that's half the size of him to line up a punch. Getting sent off in the sent second minute.

One's a hard man forward the other's a pussy hole.