If Chase raised the elbow and the players jaw didn't break then he's extremely lucky to get away without any harm.

Tangi Ropati can't move on at the moment - he can barely talk!

'Kinel, that's horrific.

Yes, and I'm sure Tangi Ropati will enjoy that return - perhaps he'll watch the game whilst enjoying a nice liquid lunch with his mates, since he'll still be taking all his meals through a straw by then?

This outcome is an absolute disgrace - it sends out a simply stunning message about how little the RFL values it's lower tier players and suggests that the urban myths about super-duper league might just be true; it would seem that we can attempt to maim players from outside it, without fear of anything more than a short rest from the game.

I'm totally baffled by this, given that we're talking about a player who was banned for striking a few weeks ago and has previous for using a similar 'mis-timed' technique on a bloke outside a pub in his home country.

Good old Wakefield manipulation. Chase was banned for striking a few weeks ago was he? Nope, Chase was most recently banned in July 2011. We're now April 2012.

As for the incident back home, that was in 2009, before his time with Cas, not rugby related. It's not at all relevant is it.

Plus how can a Wakefield fan preach about off the field behaviour of players when you have Ben Cockayne in your team, quite easy to get footage up of him kicking someone on the floor, which is, to be said, as low as it gets.

I know BC wasn't with Wakefield then but people in glass houses....

I meant cited, which he was, for an incident of striking in the Hull FC match a few weeks ago.

As for the rest - it speaks to his character and temperament and if a WTW player was involved in something like this on the pitch, I'd be advocating just as vociferously that his previous conduct, if it was relevant, should be taken into account.

3 matches is a complete joke - it's shameful in fact. Bad times.

Breaking my jaw was a blessing in disguise. I lost about a stone. In all seriousness it should have been more than 3 games. 5 would have been appropriate in my view.

Rangi Chase is the worst player to win Man of Steel in my lifetime. Complete overrated house.

^^^ This post, if any is a clear reason why this board needs a "Like" button

What i want to know why a few weeks earlier a hunslet old boys player was given a 5 match ban for pretty much the same type of challenge which resulted in a facial injury and chase was only given 3? Is it because hes a super league player and current england star? Also imo both players should have been given longer bans. www.therfl.co.uk/disciplinary/item?3491

What i want to know why a few weeks earlier a hunslet old boys player was given a 5 match ban for pretty much the same type of challenge which resulted in a facial injury and chase was only given 3? Is it because hes a super league player and current england star? Also imo both players should have been given longer bans. www.therfl.co.uk/disciplinary/item?3491

This is a very good point. Both my lads play, and tbh it's a worry - and it's more of a worry the older they get. When my 13 yr old plays now I find myself closing my eyes more and more. The kids are taught a lot of respect at junior level, but what a contradiction eh at Pro level.

More relevantly, I wonder how many he would have received had he not been in contention for an England spot...

He won't if someone puts a RECKLESS challenge on him. Lets see all the Cas apologists turn up then.

IMO the RFL have acted a bit like the CPS in criminal cases here. They've gone for the highest available grading that they think they can prove conclusively from the evidence they've got.

They could have tried to prove it was deliberate, which is difficult without being inside the head of the player at the time. They could have tried to prove it was with the elbow rather than the forearm, but did they have sufficient video evidence to do that (aren't all offences judged by the DVDs provided by the clubs, in order to ensure that TV games don't get treated unfairly?).

Rather than going with a prosecution for murder, they've taken the manslaughter route because it's easier to prove.

You do wonder why Newton's hit on Long got him 7 games though and this was only deemed worthy of 3.