It was 50/50 at the scrum but it was hock who escalated it hence his punishment

Definitely. It was a derby game right at the end of a very hot day and players get carried away in the heat of the moment. There's nothing wrong with a couple of forwards having a scrap. RL is a physical game and sometimes things boil over and that's all part of the game. In fact it's a part that most fans seem to love.

I bet no one who plays the game thinks that the red cards were deserved and that it couldn't just have been sorted out with sending players to the sin bin.

There was a time when the game embraced the physical aspect and didn't spoil games just because a few tempers got frayed. I remember a good old brawl at Knowsley Road where everyone got stuck in and it was sorted by sending players to the sin bin.

So defending yourself after being punched in the back of the head is worth a long ban is it?

Bit of a set-to and we have 3 reds? Ridiculous. If that had happened in the past we'd have no game left, remember Scully/Faz 2002? Shocking refereering. LMS and Hock have a bit of headfighting in the scrum (not a rare thing!), theres a dust up, Magennis like a true sintelliner gets a cheap shot from behind, and gets promptly banged out - none of that should have seen a red.. A few yellows, yes.

Put it this way, Rangi Chase and Ryan McGoldrick have been sent off how many times this year? And look at how many cheap shots and shocking assaults they get away with. The game is a joke.

That's the way I saw it. Hock however tried to use the head on LMS and started the punching also. The other two deserved to go to but Mossop should have had some sort of card too. Tuson retaliated with much more than magennis gave, hence his red card for retaliation.

Tuson was hammering Magennis that's why. Magennis should get a long ban for that cowardly cheap shot.

Tuson should be sending off sufficient.

Agree with everyone else though, can't argue with Hock, except LMS should have got the same, they did the same thing.

Retaliation is and always has been viewed as worse than the original offence, agree or disagree, it don't matter because that's the way it is.

If anyone thinks that only the three red-carded will be appearing at Red Hall this week, then they're gonna be in for a surprise. That game was supposed to be the showcase climax of the whole weekend and the players involved, not the referee, were to blame for what happened and the flat atmosphere following the incident. All three red cards will receive bans, along with at least a couple of other players.

Psst LMS didn't start if Hock did when he tried to steal the head at the scrum when LMS was already set in position.

That's simply not true. It has never been viewed as worse than the original offence. All offences are generally viewed in isolation although provocation is often a mitigating factor.

As an example, Kirk Yeaman was once banned for throwing three punches at Joel Tomkins in a Wigan-Hull game, Tomkins wasn't banned for throwing three punches back.

If Hock had tried stealing the head at the scrum against some of the guys I had played with he would have been on his backside.
Hock was trying to be smart and trying to dominate LMS who wasn't having any of it.
Hock instogated it as it was him being the idiot in the scrum.

Sugar Ray Mossop should have had either a card or a knighthood. Lovely right hook that was some well deserved payback for Magennis.

As if I missed this! Hopefully they'll show it again on SL full time tonight.

this shows why biff shouldn't be red carded its part and parcel of the game. it show the character of the players lay into each other for 80mins have a little set to whistle blows for full time then shake hands and become mates again.

Years ago unless there was a 'punch- up' at the first scrum in a derby match the fans felt robbed.

Shows passion.

One of the pundits on SKY, I think it was Carney said it was just frontrowers having a bit of a set too. Nothing to get worried about.

Hocks a second rower isn't he ?

Madness to send 3 players off. Just a sinbin for each team would have been fine. Cool things down. 3 red cards is just daft really. How can you pick out 3 players from a brawl like that?