Quote: PlayTheBall "Gregg McNally charged with Grade C - Contact with Match Official (Early Guilty Plea available). If guilty, the recommended suspension for Grade C is 2 or 3 matches with reduction by one match by playing the EGP card.
I am now desperate to see the match video to confirm what I believe I saw no more than 20 metres away from our position in the Stand, behind the sticks that Leigh were defending. McNally must decide in a split second how to defend a kick through on the last by Salford with the referee in a direct line between himself, the ball and the kicker.
In the event, with the help of a shove on the ref, Gregg managed to scramble the ball dead. Had the ref not been so badly positioned I believe Gregg would have collected the ball and run into the field of play from the in-goal, on the first tackle. The ref awarded Leigh a drop out from under our own sticks - arguably adding further insult to injury. The referee was not knocked over or injured in any way.
Chris Houston (for Widnes v Warrington on Thursday) who cleaned out the ref, running a defensive line he could have probably avoided, is up for Grade D - Contact with Match Official (EGP not available). The recommended suspension for Grade D is 3 to 5 games.
Houston had conceded 3 penalties earlier in the same game and I guess will be panned for a 5 game ban on the basis that he could have been taking retribution for feeling hard done-by earlier.
With the RFL current purge on the 'Contact with Match Official offence' there is every chance Gregg with get 3 games reduced to 2 with the EGP. At a time when I can't recall refereeing standards being so poor, I am not sure what the outcome will say about our sport.'"
Exactly as I saw it PTB. Maybe the ref was badly positioned, maybe not. But surely he was clearly obstructing McNally from doing his job. Surely, common sense will prevail?
